Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Invests $869,000 in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 31,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $869,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SLM. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in SLM by 358.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in SLM during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in SLM by 110.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 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 note on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.82.

Insider Activity at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $29.95 on Friday. 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 cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.22. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $19.04 and a 12-month high of $31.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.34.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. Analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 19.62%.

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.