Ieq Capital LLC Grows Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 176.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,571 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,999 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,738,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter worth $406,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in SLM by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,052 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 30,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter worth about $218,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. This represents a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $30.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $32.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.07. The company has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on SLM shares. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SLM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.91.

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.