Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 63,525 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 93.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,381 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 63,525 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in SLM were worth $120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of SLM by 86.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of SLM by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of SLM by 489.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 3,717 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.82.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $32.96. The stock had a trading volume of 421,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,253,057. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $34.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.64.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The business had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. SLM's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,096,324.25. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.