Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 28.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 47,637 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of SLM worth $2,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of SLM by 13.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in SLM by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,959 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of SLM by 5.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of SLM by 358.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SLM shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.45.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $21.70 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.54. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $13.52 and a twelve month high of $23.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.15. 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 (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). The company 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.12%.

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.