Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 995 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,610 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in SLM were worth $929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in SLM by 967.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,923,491 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649,626 shares in the last quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP raised its holdings in SLM by 9.1% during the third quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 4,282,732 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $58,331,000 after acquiring an additional 357,235 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in SLM during the third quarter worth about $4,131,000. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in SLM by 1,100.2% during the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 262,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,581,000 after acquiring an additional 240,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in SLM by 26.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,020,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,895,000 after acquiring an additional 212,485 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on SLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the 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 owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $21.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $12.26 and a 1-year high of $22.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.94 and its 200-day moving average is $18.30.

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

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

SLM announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

SLM 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.