Boston Partners Reduces Holdings in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)

Key Points

• Boston Partners has decreased its stake in SLM Corporation by 12.9%, now holding approximately 10.67 million shares valued at $312 million.
• SLM has received multiple upgrades from analysts, with price targets raised to as high as $43, reflecting an overall positive outlook for the company's stock.
• The company reported earnings of $0.32 per share for its latest quarter, missing estimates, and plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share on September 15th.

Boston Partners lessened its position in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,667,724 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,579,073 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned approximately 5.08% of SLM worth $312,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. 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 worth $50,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new stake in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $132,000. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Trading Down 8.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded down $2.67 on Friday, hitting $30.32. The company had a trading volume of 6,784,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,995,810. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $32.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.77. SLM Corporation has a 1 year low of $19.64 and a 1 year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.13.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.17). The business 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 revenue was down 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SLM. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 119,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. This trade represents a 31.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

About SLM

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.