Swiss National Bank Decreases Stock Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 385,988 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.18% of SLM worth $8,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in SLM by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,017 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in SLM by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,368 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $27.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.16. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $14.03 and a 52-week high of $28.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 15.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America initiated coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.45.

About SLM

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.