Shikiar Asset Management Inc. Sells 27,500 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 204,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 27,500 shares during the quarter. SLM makes up approximately 1.5% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in SLM were worth $5,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Cooper Financial Group purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of SLM by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 224,900 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,203,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,740 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,292.50. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America initiated coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.90.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $27.98 on Friday. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $18.25 and a 12-month high of $28.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The company has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.61.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.12%.

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.