SLM Corporation $SLM Shares Newly Bought by Wavvest Wealth LLC

Wavvest Wealth LLC bought a new position in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 34,423 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $779,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SLM. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of SLM by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,016 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 738.9% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 3,591 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of SLM from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.22.

SLM Trading Up 2.6%

SLM stock opened at $22.83 on Thursday. SLM Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.77 and a 12-month high of $31.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.75 and a 200 day moving average of $24.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.17). SLM had a net margin of 26.09% and a return on equity of 33.81%. The firm had revenue of $401.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $409.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. SLM’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that SLM Corporation will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 14.53%.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, is a financial services company focused on helping students and families finance higher education. Its primary business is the origination and servicing of private education loans, which can help cover tuition, fees, books, housing and other eligible education-related expenses not fully covered by federal student aid.

The company offers private student loans for undergraduate and graduate education, as well as loans for career-training programs and other education needs.