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

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $20,603,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in SLM by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $108,936,000 after purchasing an additional 331,490 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,488,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in SLM by 314.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 212,531 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,813,000 after purchasing an additional 161,283 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of SLM by 77.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,785 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,261,000 after buying an additional 119,796 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded down $0.32 on Friday, hitting $25.46. 2,519,268 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,167,321. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $32.65. 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 capitalization of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.86.

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SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) 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, sell-side analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SLM shares. Barclays increased their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of SLM 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 sale, the director now owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.