Brave Warrior Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in SLM Corporation $SLM

Key Points

• Brave Warrior Advisors LLC has acquired a significant stake in SLM Corporation, purchasing over 9.4 million shares valued at approximately $277.7 million, making it the firm's 4th biggest holding.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their ratings for SLM, with JPMorgan raising its price target from $29 to $38, reflecting a positive outlook on the stock.
• SLM Corporation recently reported an EPS of $0.32 for the last quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations, amidst a 21.4% year-over-year decline in revenue.

Brave Warrior Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,455,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $277,704,000. SLM accounts for 6.4% of Brave Warrior Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC owned approximately 4.51% of SLM at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in SLM by 1.1% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 36,509 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in SLM by 1.8% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,657 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in SLM by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,935 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in SLM by 6.4% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,800 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of SLM by 37.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, August 25th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.00.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.11. 1,846,413 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,765,836. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. The business's fifty day moving average is $32.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.91. SLM Corporation has a one year low of $19.64 and a one year high of $34.97. The stock has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.11.

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

SLM Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at SLM

In related news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president owned 119,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,841,139.13. This represents a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.