SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Director Robert S. Strong Sells 4,500 Shares

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,265,292.50. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

SLM Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ SLM opened at $26.27 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.75 and a 200-day moving average of $22.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.21. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $15.85 and a 52 week high of $28.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.29.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.40 million. SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is an increase from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in SLM by 35.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 415,607 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,596,000 after acquiring an additional 108,463 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,797,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter valued at about $655,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of SLM by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,762,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $108,936,000 after purchasing an additional 331,490 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in SLM during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

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.