SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Holdings Lowered by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 37.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 426,230 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 257,435 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.20% of SLM worth $11,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at $235,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in SLM by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,638,913 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $72,781,000 after acquiring an additional 226,773 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter valued at about $498,000. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in SLM by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 2,835,279 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $78,197,000 after buying an additional 13,892 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $76,362,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,096,324.25. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.82.

SLM Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of SLM stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.88. 647,033 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,246,139. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. SLM Co. has a one year low of $19.39 and a one year high of $33.94. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $29.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The company had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. SLM's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

SLM 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.