Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC cut its holdings in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,212 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 8,115 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of SLM worth $5,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM during the first quarter valued at about $607,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of SLM during the first quarter valued at about $216,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of SLM by 103.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 135,014 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,712,000 after acquiring an additional 68,632 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in SLM by 19.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 1,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in SLM by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 223,692 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,169,000 after buying an additional 18,754 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

SLM Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded up $0.53 during trading on Monday, reaching $34.40. 1,947,618 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,285,713. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.84. SLM Corporation has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $34.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.09.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted 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. SLM had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 31.25%. The firm had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $359.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.30.

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.