SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,901 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 47,637 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of SLM worth $2,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SLM. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in SLM by 358.7% during the third 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in SLM by 378.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,050 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 13.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.45.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.70. 1,402,695 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,601,604. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.54. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $13.52 and a 12-month high of $23.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.16.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. The firm had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $363.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from SLM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.33%.

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.