TD Asset Management Inc Trims Holdings in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc has reduced its stake in SLM Corporation by 26.4% in the first quarter, now holding 65,544 shares worth approximately $1.9 million after selling 23,566 shares.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in SLM, with a significant 355.4% growth from UMB Bank and new acquisitions by firms like J.Safra Asset Management and CENTRAL TRUST Co.
• SLM reported a quarterly EPS of $0.32, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49, with revenue falling 21.4% year-over-year despite exceeding expectations at $403.6 million.

TD Asset Management Inc trimmed its stake in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 26.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,544 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 23,566 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc's holdings in SLM were worth $1,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $144,101,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $140,442,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,362,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC bought a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $69,509,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,529,496 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $207,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111,699 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays raised their target price on SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Insider Activity

In other SLM news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $32.01. 466,808 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,585,248. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $32.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.13. SLM Corporation has a one year low of $19.64 and a one year high of $34.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $403.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $370.26 million. SLM had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 15.46%. The business's revenue was down 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. SLM's payout ratio is presently 26.13%.

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.