Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 1,665,337 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 69.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 741,047 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,665,337 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in SLM were worth $20,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 107.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $49,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,015 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in SLM by 253.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,290,997 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,840,000 after purchasing an additional 926,120 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of SLM by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $108,936,000 after purchasing an additional 331,490 shares during the period. AXA S.A. bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,046,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its position in shares of SLM by 16.9% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,291,153 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,529,000 after buying an additional 186,522 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $27.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.80 and its 200-day moving average is $23.61. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $18.25 and a twelve month high of $28.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released 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 for 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s payout ratio is 18.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SLM shares. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.90.

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.