Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 10,861 Shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 324,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,861 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.15% of SLM worth $9,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in SLM in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position 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 buying an additional 469 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake 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 acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter valued at $132,000. Finally, Mariner LLC bought a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter worth $205,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Barclays upped their target price on SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.00.

SLM Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $31.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.13. The business's 50 day moving average is $32.57 and its 200 day moving average is $30.58. SLM Corporation has a 12-month low of $19.39 and a 12-month high of $34.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $403.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $370.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. SLM's revenue was down 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.13%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other SLM news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 119,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,841,139.13. This trade represents a 31.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.