SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Purchased by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 55.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,576 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,055 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in SLM were worth $2,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 355.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings 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 valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $132,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

SLM Trading Up 1.7%

SLM traded up $0.57 during trading on Thursday, hitting $33.71. 3,175,966 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,302,541. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. SLM Corporation has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year high of $34.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.94. The firm has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.09.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $359.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 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 accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.