Vest Financial LLC Decreases Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Vest Financial LLC reduced its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,259,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 31,570 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $34,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in SLM by 3,800.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $55,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,344,691 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 7.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $108,936,000 after buying an additional 331,490 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $6,488,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,250,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in SLM by 124.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 222,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,083,000 after acquiring an additional 123,398 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Stock Down 0.3 %

SLM opened at $29.95 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.04 and a fifty-two week high of $31.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.22.

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

SLM Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.82.

SLM 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.