Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 7,400 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 51,779 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in SLM by 358.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of SLM by 110.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on SLM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.91.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock opened at $30.10 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The stock has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $19.39 and a 12-month high of $32.65.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (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, research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.62%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.