Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 21,984 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 194.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,273 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,984 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in SLM were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in SLM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in SLM by 358.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in SLM during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 378.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,050 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SLM shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.45.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.77 on Thursday, reaching $23.71. 1,744,556 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,800,988. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.16. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $13.93 and a 52 week high of $24.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.59.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This is an increase from SLM's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.33%.

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.