SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 26.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,553 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 16,720 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in SLM were worth $871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Goldentree Asset Management LP increased its stake in SLM by 9.1% in the third quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 4,282,732 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $58,331,000 after purchasing an additional 357,235 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in SLM by 967.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,923,491 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649,626 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in SLM by 8.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,570,065 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,004,000 after purchasing an additional 209,632 shares during the period. Arnhold LLC increased its stake in SLM by 5.7% in the third quarter. Arnhold LLC now owns 1,662,736 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $22,646,000 after purchasing an additional 89,315 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in SLM by 26.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,020,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,895,000 after purchasing an additional 212,485 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total value of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Up 0.3 %

SLM stock opened at $21.25 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $22.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. SLM had a net margin of 25.15% and a return on equity of 45.65%. The company had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. TheStreet upgraded shares of SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.32.

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.