Redwood Investment Management LLC Has $1.43 Million Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Redwood Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,717 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 17,925 shares during the quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in SLM by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,935 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in SLM by 74.0% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 59,841 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 25,453 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $777,000. Mubadala Investment Co PJSC acquired a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,502,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,771,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $93,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Compass Point lifted their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.18.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $33.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.84 and its 200-day moving average is $27.95. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $33.88.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.83 million. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

About SLM

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.