SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates lowered its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Rating) by 6.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 158,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 10,612 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in SLM were worth $2,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter worth about $936,000. Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter worth about $175,000. HGK Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of SLM by 24.1% in the third quarter. HGK Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,953 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 8,922 shares during the period. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI raised its position in shares of SLM by 0.9% in the third quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 293,371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,670 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of SLM by 9.2% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 2,662,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,247,000 after acquiring an additional 224,952 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.65% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $16.58 on Monday. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $13.72 and a 12-month high of $20.75. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $16.76 and a 200 day moving average of $16.02.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 26th. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.18). SLM had a net margin of 35.01% and a return on equity of 47.71%. The business had revenue of $369.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 2nd were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 1st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 28th. Compass Point downgraded shares of SLM from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 10th. Citigroup downgraded shares of SLM from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of SLM from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.80.

About SLM

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SLM Corp. engages in the provision and administration of education loans. Its services include private education loans, banking, college savings, and insurance services. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Newark, DE.