Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 747,040 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,603,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of SLM as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $261,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,057,000. Shelton Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth $219,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,684,793 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $46,467,000 after buying an additional 443,726 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in SLM by 97.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,412 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,583,000 after buying an additional 28,369 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SLM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.18.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ SLM traded up $0.44 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.15. 2,482,977 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,188,938. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $32.65. The company has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $28.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 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, analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. SLM's payout ratio is 19.62%.

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.