T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in SLM Corporation $SLM

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in SLM Corporation by 29.4%, holding 1,953,383 shares after selling 815,358 shares in the first quarter.
• SLM reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of $0.32, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.49, while quarterly revenue was $403.60 million, exceeding expectations.
• SLM's board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, set to be paid on September 15th, reflecting an annual yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 26.13%.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 29.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,953,383 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 815,358 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 0.93% of SLM worth $57,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SLM. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,954 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of SLM by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 35,056 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 2,506 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $388,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth about $552,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock opened at $31.73 on Friday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.84.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.17). SLM had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 15.46%.The company had revenue of $403.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $370.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. SLM's quarterly 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, analysts predict that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. SLM's payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 $3,841,139.13. The trade was a 31.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.00.

SLM 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.

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