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

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in SLM Corporation by 3.5%, acquiring an additional 10,861 shares and owning a total of approximately 0.15% of the company worth $9,537,000.
• SLM Corporation reported a quarterly EPS of $0.32, missing analysts' expectations of $0.49, with revenues of $403.60 million, down 21.4% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $0.13 quarterly dividend, with a dividend yield of 1.6%, payable on September 15th to stockholders of record.

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 324,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,861 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.15% of SLM worth $9,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in SLM during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in SLM by 37.7% during the first 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. boosted its holdings in SLM by 355.4% during the first 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. CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new position in SLM during the first quarter worth about $132,000. Finally, Mariner LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Trading Up 1.5%

SLM traded up $0.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $32.05. 360,003 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,584,646. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.13. 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 50-day moving average of $32.45 and a 200 day moving average of $30.62. SLM Corporation has a 12-month low of $19.64 and a 12-month high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $370.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. 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 (DPR) is 26.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other SLM news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total value of $1,771,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 119,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. The trade was a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.