Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 15,252 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,758,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,252 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in SLM were worth $40,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 3,800.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,406,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,034,000 after buying an additional 2,344,691 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in SLM by 107.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,366,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $49,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,015 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in SLM by 253.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,290,997 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,840,000 after purchasing an additional 926,120 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in SLM by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,453,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $92,589,000 after purchasing an additional 859,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 69.1% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,002,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,849,000 after purchasing an additional 409,624 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SLM shares. 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. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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, Bank of America began coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.45.

SLM Stock Down 3.0 %

SLM stock opened at $26.56 on Tuesday. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $15.64 and a twelve month high of $28.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.01. The company has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.16.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. The firm 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 business earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is an increase from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 15.33%.

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.