Blue Trust Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 32.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in SLM were worth $51,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at $262,000. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at $6,488,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Cooper Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 224,900 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,203,000 after acquiring an additional 2,636 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SLM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.82.

SLM Trading Down 0.3 %

SLM stock opened at $29.95 on Monday. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $19.04 and a 12-month high of $31.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.62%.

Insider Activity at SLM

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

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.