SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Stake Decreased by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 0.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,837,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 8,564 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.05% of SLM worth $247,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in SLM by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 13.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in SLM by 5.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in SLM by 9.9% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,017 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in SLM by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,368 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America began 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.45.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $27.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s fifty day moving average is $22.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.80. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $14.03 and a 12-month high of $27.18.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. The business had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.33%.

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.