True Wealth Design LLC Invests $31,000 in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,347 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in SLM by 362.9% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 338,534 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,038,000 after purchasing an additional 265,394 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in SLM by 50.7% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 290,636 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after buying an additional 97,832 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in SLM in the third quarter valued at approximately $623,000. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in SLM by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 211,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 34,550 shares during the period. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of SLM by 62.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 177,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,067,000 after acquiring an additional 68,642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Up 0.7 %

SLM stock opened at $27.38 on Monday. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $14.64 and a twelve month high of $28.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.46 and a 200-day moving average of $22.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.16.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. The company had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SLM shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays reduced 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, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.45.

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.