Trust Investment Advisors Takes Position in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)

Trust Investment Advisors bought a new position in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,072 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of SLM by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 57,802 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 21.3% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 82,654 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,428,000 after purchasing an additional 14,531 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of SLM by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 120,732 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,417,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of SLM by 55.3% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 81,576 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,396,000 after purchasing an additional 29,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of SLM by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 207,129 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,083,000 after purchasing an additional 40,378 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $32.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,671,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,309,375. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.19. SLM Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. SLM had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 31.25%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is 18.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.40.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $93,450.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.