Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $1.17 Million Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,089 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,999 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in SLM were worth $1,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SLM. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of SLM by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 13.3% during 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 during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of SLM by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of SLM by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,368 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in SLM by 358.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $27.38 on Monday. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $14.64 and a 52-week high of $28.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.16.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 15.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. 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 restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, 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 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.45.

SLM Company 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.