Barclays PLC Decreases Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Barclays PLC reduced its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Rating) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 6,902 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of SLM by 9.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,007,968 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $318,927,000 after buying an additional 1,785,938 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in SLM by 53.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,530,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $83,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570,000 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in SLM by 13.8% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,918,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,814,000 after purchasing an additional 596,937 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new stake in SLM during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,182,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in SLM by 12.2% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,175,823 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $82,503,000 after purchasing an additional 564,507 shares during the period. 96.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $15.32 on Thursday. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $20.75. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $16.64 and its 200 day moving average is $16.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.55.

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SLM (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.79). SLM had a return on equity of 27.83% and a net margin of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $542.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $358.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SLM. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price objective on SLM from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Compass Point cut SLM from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on SLM from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut SLM from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $19.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on SLM from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.92.

SLM Profile

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SLM Corp. engages in the provision and administration of education loans. Its services include private education loans, banking, college savings, and insurance services. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Newark, DE.