Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 2,417,962 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,795,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,417,962 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of SLM worth $794,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 86.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of SLM by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 24,263 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in SLM by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,052 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $28.90 on Friday. SLM Co. has a 12-month low of $19.39 and a 12-month high of $32.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.59 and a 200-day moving average of $26.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is 19.62%.

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.