MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 7,299 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,666 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,299 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $3,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $144,101,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of SLM by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 20,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 8,704 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $552,000. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in SLM by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 429,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,839,000 after buying an additional 58,524 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC bought a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $388,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 target price (up previously from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.73.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ SLM opened at $27.75 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $28.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.16. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year high of $32.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

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.