8,760 Shares in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Purchased by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM in the second quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in SLM by 119.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 12,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 7,076 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in SLM in the second quarter worth $60,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the second quarter worth $298,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of SLM by 2.2% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 58,990 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SLM. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. 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. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.27.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock opened at $27.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.71 and a 200-day moving average of $22.58. 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 $18.04 and a 1 year high of $28.22.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.12%.

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.