USA Financial Formulas Takes $316,000 Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,746 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in SLM by 86.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in SLM by 355.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,482 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in SLM by 489.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 3,717 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SLM shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley restated 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 Wednesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.43 on Friday, hitting $31.20. 2,016,806 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,265,939. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.23. The company has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $34.55.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. SLM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.71%.

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.