Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its stake in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 24.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,056 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 51,475 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.08% of SLM worth $4,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 355.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 489.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $132,000. Finally, Mariner LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
SLM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays upped their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.30.
View Our Latest Research Report on SLM
SLM Stock Up 0.8%
Shares of NASDAQ SLM traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $34.14. 321,723 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,279,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. SLM Corporation has a twelve month low of $19.39 and a twelve month high of $34.55. The company has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $32.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.84.
SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. SLM had a return on equity of 31.25% and a net margin of 21.05%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. Research analysts predict 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 was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.
Insider Transactions at SLM
In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About SLM
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading

Before you consider SLM, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and SLM wasn't on the list.
While SLM currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
With the proliferation of data centers and electric vehicles, the electric grid will only get more strained. Download this report to learn how energy stocks can play a role in your portfolio as the global demand for energy continues to grow.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.