Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 552 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 33,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in SLM during the second quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in SLM by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 112,871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,347,000 after buying an additional 43,542 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,687,920 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $118,248,000 after buying an additional 119,342 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter worth $340,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLM Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $28.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27. SLM Co. has a one year low of $18.25 and a one year high of $28.91. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.49. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $652.64 million for 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 prior year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. This is an increase from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (up previously from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,265,292.50. This represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.