Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Invests $405,000 in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 14,696 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $405,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 461,586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,731,000 after buying an additional 4,075 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter valued at $446,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $536,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in SLM by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 50,489 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 5,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 36,101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 8,879 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Trading Down 6.7 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $25.54 on Monday. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $19.39 and a 12-month high of $32.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37.

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%. Research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 19.62%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SLM shares. Barclays boosted their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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. Two equities research 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.45.

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.