Wellington Management Group LLP Has $4.52 Million Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 197,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 58,442 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in SLM were worth $4,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in SLM during the third quarter valued at approximately $623,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of SLM by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $158,342,000 after buying an additional 43,927 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in SLM by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 290,636 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 97,832 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,250,000. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of SLM by 62.9% during the third quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 177,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,067,000 after acquiring an additional 68,642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of SLM opened at $27.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.29. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $18.04 and a 52 week high of $28.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.47.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. The trade was 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 the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SLM Company 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.