SLM Corporation $SLM Shares Bought by ARGA Investment Management LP

ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 465.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 806,141 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 663,595 shares during the quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP owned about 0.44% of SLM worth $18,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLM. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in SLM in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in SLM by 48.7% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,016 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in SLM during the second quarter valued at $55,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in SLM by 19.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in SLM during the 2nd quarter worth about $77,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded SLM from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on SLM from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on SLM from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.44.

SLM Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $17.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 1.01. SLM Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.25 and a 1 year high of $31.06.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.36). SLM had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 26.34%. The company had revenue of $375.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $453.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. SLM's revenue for the quarter was down 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLM Corporation will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.84%.

About SLM

SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, is a financial services company focused on helping students and families finance higher education. Its primary business is the origination and servicing of private education loans, which can help cover tuition, fees, books, housing and other eligible education-related expenses not fully covered by federal student aid.

The company offers private student loans for undergraduate and graduate education, as well as loans for career-training programs and other education needs.

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