Millennium Management LLC Has $77.33 Million Stock Holdings in SLM Corporation $SLM

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC significantly increased its stake in SLM Corporation by 378.4%, owning 2,633,072 shares valued at approximately $77.3 million.
• Analyst ratings for SLM have improved recently, with several firms raising their price targets to as high as $43, and the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• SLM Corporation also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.7%.

Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 378.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,633,072 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,082,687 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 1.25% of SLM worth $77,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $607,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $216,000. Informed Momentum Co LLC bought a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter valued at $4,190,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in SLM by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 207,129 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,083,000 after acquiring an additional 40,378 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in SLM by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total value of $1,771,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 119,253 shares in the company, valued at $3,841,139.13. The trade was a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,520,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,528,002. SLM Corporation has a 52 week low of $21.05 and a 52 week high of $34.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $31.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.86. The stock has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.11.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.17). SLM had a net margin of 15.46% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $403.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $370.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. The business's revenue was down 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. SLM has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. SLM's payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on SLM in a research report on Monday, August 25th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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 report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.00.

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.