SG Americas Securities LLC Invests $607,000 in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 20,676 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $607,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SLM. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $338,889,000 after purchasing an additional 456,415 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in SLM by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,529,496 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $207,664,000 after buying an additional 2,111,699 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter worth $144,101,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in SLM by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,175,645 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $142,744,000 after buying an additional 338,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter valued at $140,442,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of SLM 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 transaction, the director now owns 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,096,324.25. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. decreased their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.30.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.32. 1,390,445 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,274,232. The company's 50 day moving average price is $31.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.47. The company has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.10. SLM Corporation has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $34.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

SLM Company 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.