Sanctuary Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 28,654 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $655,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in SLM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the third quarter worth $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of SLM by 358.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in SLM during the second quarter worth about $60,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $30.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. The trade was a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded up $0.49 on Wednesday, reaching $27.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,017,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,928,926. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. 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's 50-day moving average is $25.07 and its 200 day moving average is $22.78. SLM Co. has a one year low of $18.04 and a one year high of $28.24.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This is a boost from SLM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.12%.

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.