Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Takes $140.44 Million Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,092,179 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $140,442,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned approximately 2.40% of SLM at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of SLM by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in SLM during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in SLM by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $114,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.45.

SLM Stock Down 2.8 %

SLM stock opened at $28.90 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.45. 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 has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $19.39 and a 52 week high of $32.65.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

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.