National Bank of Canada FI Buys 7,816 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,806 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,816 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in SLM in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of SLM by 358.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SLM. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America assumed coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up previously from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.80.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $27.18 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.41. The firm has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $17.94 and a 1-year high of $28.22.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company posted $0.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This is an increase from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.12%.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,292.50. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.