SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Holdings Lifted by Covestor Ltd

Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 110.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,310 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in SLM were worth $101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,959 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 77.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 64,514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 28,236 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 117.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 73,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 39,519 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.45.

SLM Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $24.08 on Wednesday. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $13.93 and a 52-week high of $24.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 8.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $22.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.64.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. On average, analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 15.33%.

About SLM

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.