Semanteon Capital Management LP Purchases New Shares in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 24,646 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in SLM by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 1,925 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Trading Down 0.1 %

SLM stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.90. 1,857,553 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,152,652. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $20.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 6.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16. SLM Co. has a one year low of $12.26 and a one year high of $22.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. SLM had a return on equity of 47.72% and a net margin of 25.15%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

SLM announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on SLM. Citigroup raised SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Wedbush lifted their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other SLM news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

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.