Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Stock Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,426,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 157,491 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in SLM were worth $66,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in SLM during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 110.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.91.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock opened at $29.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $28.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.39. SLM Co. has a one year low of $19.39 and a one year high of $32.65. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22.

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

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.