Huntington National Bank Sells 583 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Huntington National Bank lessened its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,629 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 583 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in SLM were worth $37,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in SLM by 358.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in SLM in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 2nd quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of SLM by 378.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.45.

SLM Stock Down 1.4 %

SLM stock opened at $23.87 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $22.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.73. 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 cap of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.16. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $13.93 and a 52 week high of $24.59.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results 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). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. The firm had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.33%.

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.