SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by BlackRock Inc.

BlackRock Inc. cut its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Rating) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,395,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,364,713 shares during the quarter. BlackRock Inc. owned about 8.55% of SLM worth $299,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HGK Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of SLM by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. HGK Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,953 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 8,922 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of SLM by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 15,440 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. Saddle Point Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter worth $367,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the 3rd quarter worth $480,000. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 715,488 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,010,000 after acquiring an additional 50,317 shares during the last quarter. 96.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $12.84 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.67 and a 200 day moving average of $15.85. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $12.61 and a 12 month high of $20.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.55 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.55, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.79). The company had revenue of $542.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $358.11 million. SLM had a net margin of 19.82% and a return on equity of 27.83%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 2nd. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 25.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SLM. Citigroup lowered their price target on SLM from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on SLM from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut SLM from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $16.00 in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price target on SLM from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on SLM from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.92.

SLM Profile

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SLM Corp. engages in the provision and administration of education loans. Its services include private education loans, banking, college savings, and insurance services. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Newark, DE.