SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Purchased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,610 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 995 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in SLM were worth $929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 10.4% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 9,033 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 1.9% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 62,111 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 12.3% in the third quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 16,894 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 51.9% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on SLM shares. Citigroup upgraded SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. TheStreet upgraded SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.32.

SLM Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $21.90 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 6.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.94 and a 200-day moving average of $18.30. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $22.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.18. SLM had a return on equity of 45.65% and a net margin of 25.15%. The business had revenue of $837.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. Analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

SLM announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.75%.

About SLM

SLM Corporation, through its subsidiaries, originates and services private education loans to students and their families to finance the cost of their education in the United States. It is also involved in the provision of retail deposit accounts, including certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and high-yield savings accounts; and interest-bearing omnibus accounts.