Jones Financial Companies Lllp Grows Stock Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 489.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,717 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in SLM were worth $123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of SLM by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $623,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of SLM by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,758,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,207,000 after purchasing an additional 15,252 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of SLM by 150.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 56,766 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 34,079 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.45.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $29.26 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.85. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year high of $32.65. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. On average, research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is 19.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.