SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 66.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,768 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 79,133 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,923,576 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $158,342,000 after purchasing an additional 43,927 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter worth $623,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in SLM in the third quarter valued at $3,250,000. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP increased its stake in SLM by 62.9% during the third quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 177,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,067,000 after acquiring an additional 68,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter worth about $268,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $28.64 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.36 and a 200-day moving average of $23.98. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $18.84 and a 52 week high of $31.49.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. On average, analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. SLM’s payout ratio is 18.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SLM shares. Barclays decreased their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Compass Point upped their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,292.50. This represents a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.