Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stake in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in SLM Corporation by 11%, selling 3,172,602 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 25,622,709 shares valued at approximately $752.5 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets on SLM, with several firms upgrading the stock to an "overweight" rating and increasing projections to as high as $43, reflecting a positive outlook on the company.
• SLM recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, which represents an annual yield of 1.6%, with a payout ratio of 26.13% as of now.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,622,709 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,172,602 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.21% of SLM worth $752,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in SLM by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of SLM by 355.4% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the first quarter worth about $132,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the first quarter worth about $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.00.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ SLM traded down $2.67 on Friday, hitting $30.32. 6,784,618 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,995,810. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $32.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.77. SLM Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $19.64 and a fifty-two week high of $34.97. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.13.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $403.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $370.26 million. SLM had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 15.46%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. SLM's payout ratio is 26.13%.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total transaction of $1,771,550.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.