Helix Partners Management LP Takes $13.79 Million Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Helix Partners Management LP acquired a new position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 500,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,790,000. SLM accounts for approximately 2.4% of Helix Partners Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Helix Partners Management LP owned 0.24% of SLM as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $338,889,000 after purchasing an additional 456,415 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of SLM by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $158,342,000 after buying an additional 43,927 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in SLM by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,175,645 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $142,744,000 after acquiring an additional 338,128 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at $140,442,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,817,771 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $132,906,000 after buying an additional 55,443 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on SLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.45.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $30.14 on Thursday. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $32.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. Analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. SLM’s payout ratio is 19.62%.

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.