Discovery Capital Management LLC CT Takes Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Discovery Capital Management LLC CT bought a new position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 209,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,775,000. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT owned about 0.10% of SLM at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. State Street Corp increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 43,927 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter worth $3,250,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of SLM by 103.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 135,014 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,712,000 after buying an additional 68,632 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the third quarter valued at about $268,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in SLM by 136.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 38,618 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $884,000 after acquiring an additional 22,315 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $29.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.55. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. On average, equities research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SLM shares. Barclays upped their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.45.

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.