Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $443,000 Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,051 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 858 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in SLM were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth $536,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in SLM by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 50,489 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,392,000 after acquiring an additional 5,596 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in SLM by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 36,101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 8,879 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in SLM by 103.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 135,014 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,712,000 after acquiring an additional 68,632 shares during the period. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $278,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on 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. increased their price objective on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $29.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.22 and a 200-day moving average of $25.93. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $19.39 and a 52 week high of $32.65. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

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

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.