Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $20.60 Million Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 747,040 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,603,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of SLM as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SLM. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of SLM by 86.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in SLM by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of SLM by 489.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 3,717 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,061,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,192,624. SLM Co. has a one year low of $19.39 and a one year high of $32.65. The company has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The company had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. SLM's payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on SLM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.18.

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.