Man Group plc Sells 176,214 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Man Group plc lessened its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 54.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 149,462 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 176,214 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.07% of SLM worth $4,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 86.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 489.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $93,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLM has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SLM currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.82.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $32.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $33.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The company's 50-day moving average price is $29.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company'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 business earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.71%.

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.

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