SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by Parkside Financial Bank & Trust

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust reduced its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 439 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in SLM were worth $300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in SLM in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 358.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 110.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 2,310 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of SLM 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $30.19 on Friday. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $32.65. The stock has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

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

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.91.

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.