Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $20.60 Million in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 747,040 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,603,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in SLM by 7.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $108,936,000 after buying an additional 331,490 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter worth about $6,488,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in SLM by 314.7% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 212,531 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,813,000 after buying an additional 161,283 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in SLM during the third quarter worth about $3,250,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in SLM by 77.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,261,000 after buying an additional 119,796 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SLM shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays upped their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point upped their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.45.

Insider Activity at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock opened at $29.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year high of $32.65. The firm has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.88.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. On average, equities analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.