Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 7,143 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,359 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 7,143 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $2,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,551,727 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $427,418,000 after buying an additional 177,312 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 21,483,681 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $350,614,000 after buying an additional 75,771 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,605,432 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $81,839,000 after buying an additional 988,172 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 53.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,530,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $83,171,000 after buying an additional 1,570,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldentree Asset Management LP boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 4,282,732 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $58,331,000 after buying an additional 357,235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $20.78 on Friday. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $21.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.88. The company has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.16.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.15). SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. The firm had revenue of $725.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.33) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.33%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. TheStreet upgraded SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.32.

SLM Company Profile

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.