Millennium Management LLC Sells 168,166 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Millennium Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 550,385 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 168,166 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.26% of SLM worth $15,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $8,771,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 136,046 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,754,000 after acquiring an additional 2,393 shares during the period. Kaizen Financial Strategies purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $235,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 16,785 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 6,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 397,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,249,836. The company has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50-day moving average is $29.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.60. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $35.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.82.

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.