Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. Invests $240,000 in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 10,475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in SLM by 1,373.3% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 358.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in SLM during the second quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in SLM by 378.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Down 2.6 %

SLM opened at $22.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $21.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.50. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.26 and a fifty-two week high of $23.95.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted 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 net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,294,811.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America started coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.67.

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.