SLM Corporation $SLM Stock Position Lowered by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in SLM Corporation by 3.9% in Q1, now owning 5,418,346 shares valued at approximately $159 million.
• Several analysts have recently raised their price targets for SLM, with Barclays setting a new target of $43, while JPMorgan Chase increased it to $38.
• SLM Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, which reflects an annualized yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of 26.13%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,418,346 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 217,800 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.58% of SLM worth $159,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,657 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SLM by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,935 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in SLM by 6.4% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,800 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in SLM by 37.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in SLM by 1.4% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 39,364 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $31.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,544,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,032,951. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.13. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $32.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.86. 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 one year low of $19.64 and a one year high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $403.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $370.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. SLM has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.100 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is 26.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 119,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. This represents a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on 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 reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.00.

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.