Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Makes New Investment in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 10,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter worth $405,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 461,586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,731,000 after purchasing an additional 4,075 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $446,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $536,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in SLM by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 50,489 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after buying an additional 5,596 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on SLM shares. Compass Point increased their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.45.

SLM Stock Up 3.2 %

SLM stock opened at $29.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $29.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.85. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $32.65.

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

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. SLM’s payout ratio is 19.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.