55,615 Shares in SLM Corporation $SLM Purchased by Sciencast Management LP

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP acquired 55,615 shares of SLM Corporation valued at approximately $1.6 million during the first quarter, reflecting ongoing interest from institutional investors in SLM stock.
• SLM Corporation's quarterly earnings reported $0.32 EPS, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49, with revenue declining 21.4% year-over-year.
• SLM announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13, set to be paid on September 15th, representing an annual yield of 1.7% with a payout ratio of 26.13%.

Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 55,615 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,633,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in SLM by 355.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the 1st quarter valued at about $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total transaction of $1,771,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 119,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. The trade was a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SLM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.00.

SLM Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of SLM traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.13. 4,094,873 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,543,381. The firm has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.86. SLM Corporation has a 12-month low of $21.05 and a 12-month high of $34.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $403.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $370.26 million. SLM had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 15.46%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. SLM's payout ratio is 26.13%.

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.