Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 74,336 Shares of SLM Corporation $SLM

Key Points

• Royal London Asset Management cut its SLM stake by 4.5%, selling 74,336 shares and retaining 1.56 million shares valued at approximately $40.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 98.94% of the company.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook, with SLM carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $29.80. Recent targets range from $25 to $28, while ratings include five Buys, six Holds, and one Sell.
• SLM missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.29 per share versus the $0.46 consensus estimate, while revenue declined 0.7% year over year to $401.1 million. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13, representing a 2.0% annualized yield.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,559,989 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 74,336 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.83% of SLM worth $40,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $455,576,000. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,261,000. Act Two Investors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $18,593,000. Baxter Bros Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,675,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,375,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SLM from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of SLM from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $28.00 target price on SLM in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.80.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $26.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $25.87 and a 200-day moving average of $23.26. SLM Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.77 and a 12-month high of $32.02.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $401.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $409.22 million. SLM had a return on equity of 33.81% and a net margin of 26.09%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. SLM has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. SLM's payout ratio is 14.53%.

About SLM

SLM Corporation, operating as Sallie Mae Bank, is a leading U.S.-based consumer banking company specializing in education financing and related banking products. The company provides a range of private student loans for undergraduate and graduate studies, Parent PLUS loans, and specialized financing for career and certificate programs. In addition to its core lending services, Sallie Mae offers deposit products including savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and credit cards tailored to students and young adults.

Founded in 1972 as the Student Loan Marketing Association—a government-sponsored enterprise—Sallie Mae was privatized in 2004 and has since focused on expanding its private education loan offerings and digital banking solutions.

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