Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 3,800.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,344,691 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in SLM were worth $55,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in SLM by 107.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,202,000 after buying an additional 1,224,015 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 253.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,290,997 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,840,000 after acquiring an additional 926,120 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in SLM by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,453,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $92,589,000 after purchasing an additional 859,625 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in SLM by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,461,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $271,626,000 after purchasing an additional 674,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in SLM by 69.1% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,002,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,849,000 after purchasing an additional 409,624 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.67.

SLM Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of SLM opened at $22.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.94, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $21.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.50. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $23.95.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.