SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Acquired by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 124.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 222,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 123,398 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of SLM worth $5,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the second quarter worth about $60,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in SLM by 378.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in SLM by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SLM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.45.

SLM Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $21.70 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.55. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $13.52 and a 52-week high of $23.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued 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 company 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 15.33%.

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.