Fox Run Management L.L.C. Makes New Investment in SLM Corporation $SLM

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. has made a new investment in SLM Corporation by acquiring 12,776 shares valued at approximately $375,000 during the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have also increased their stakes, with UMB Bank n.a. growing its position by 355.4% during the same period.
• SLM Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, payable to shareholders on September 15th, with an annualized yield of 1.7%.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 12,776 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $375,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of SLM by 37.7% during the 1st 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 last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of SLM by 355.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter worth $62,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter worth $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average 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 SLM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total transaction of $1,771,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 119,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. The trade was a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $30.84. 1,384,882 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,260,863. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $32.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.13. SLM Corporation has a 12 month low of $19.64 and a 12 month high of $34.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced 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). SLM had a net margin of 15.46% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The firm had revenue of $403.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $370.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. SLM has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.100 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

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

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.