Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Purchases 1,233 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,266 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in SLM were worth $196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in SLM by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in SLM by 81.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in SLM by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 48,610 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $929,000 after buying an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in SLM by 1.9% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 62,111 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,564,155. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ SLM opened at $22.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $12.26 and a 12-month high of $22.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $20.87 and its 200-day moving average is $18.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.29. SLM had a net margin of 20.65% and a return on equity of 36.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. SLM’s payout ratio is 18.33%.

SLM announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.