Natixis Advisors L.P. Has $9.32 Million Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 487,212 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,809 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned approximately 0.22% of SLM worth $9,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of SLM by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 67,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 2,055 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in shares of SLM by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 283,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,418,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in SLM by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $471,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its position in SLM by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 138,686 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,652,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $21.76 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $12.26 and a twelve month high of $22.74. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 6.80, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.17.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $376.43 million. SLM had a net margin of 25.15% and a return on equity of 45.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

SLM declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush upped their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upgraded shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TheStreet raised SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.32.

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.