SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Bought by LSV Asset Management

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management significantly increased its stake in SLM Corporation by 89.4%, now owning about 0.35% of the company, valued at around $21.8 million.
• SLM recently reported its quarterly earnings, with an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.32, missing estimates and reflecting a 21.4% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.7%.

LSV Asset Management raised its position in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 89.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 743,038 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 350,738 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.35% of SLM worth $21,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SLM. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $607,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $216,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in SLM by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 207,129 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,083,000 after purchasing an additional 40,378 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in SLM by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth $235,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $32.00. The stock had a trading volume of 466,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,585,248. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. SLM Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $19.64 and a fifty-two week high of $34.97. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $32.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.62. The firm has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.13.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.17). SLM had a net margin of 15.46% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $403.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $370.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on SLM shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total transaction of $1,771,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 119,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. The trade was a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company 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.