SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Acquired by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 22.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,981,771 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 554,931 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.42% of SLM worth $87,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in SLM during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in SLM by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in SLM by 355.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 489.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new position in SLM during the first quarter worth approximately $132,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,408,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,305,280. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.66 and a 200-day moving average of $29.98. SLM Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $34.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.09.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 31.25%. The company had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.71%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SLM shares. Morgan Stanley reissued 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays raised their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.40.

About SLM

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.