SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Holdings Trimmed by Ibex Investors LLC

Key Points

• Ibex Investors LLC reduced its stake in SLM Corporation by 24.4% during the 1st quarter, selling 12,200 shares and holding 37,800 shares worth approximately $1.11 million.
• Several brokerages, including Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley, have recently increased their target prices for SLM, indicating an overall positive sentiment with multiple buy ratings assigned.
• SLM announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 to be paid in mid-September, representing an annualized yield of 1.59% with a relatively low payout ratio of 18.71%.

Ibex Investors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 24.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,800 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 12,200 shares during the period. SLM accounts for about 1.5% of Ibex Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Ibex Investors LLC's holdings in SLM were worth $1,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in SLM during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co bought a new stake in SLM during the first quarter worth about $132,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in SLM during the first quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Price Performance

SLM traded up $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $31.90. 744,008 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,622,302. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.46. SLM Corporation has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $370.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. SLM's revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLM. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.00.

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.