SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Position Reduced by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE cut its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 425,058 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 96,277 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.20% of SLM worth $11,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SLM. Amundi increased its stake in SLM by 103.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 135,014 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,712,000 after purchasing an additional 68,632 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in SLM by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 223,692 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,169,000 after buying an additional 18,754 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at about $235,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $338,889,000 after acquiring an additional 456,415 shares during the period. Finally, Discovery Capital Management LLC CT purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $5,775,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.82.

SLM Stock Down 2.3%

NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.78 on Wednesday, reaching $33.58. The company had a trading volume of 397,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,249,820. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year high of $35.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.56 and a 200-day moving average of $28.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $359.83 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.