BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 5,588 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,304 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,588 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in SLM were worth $1,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of SLM by 77.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,261,000 after purchasing an additional 119,796 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter worth $6,488,000. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SLM Stock Up 0.9%

SLM stock opened at $33.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. SLM Co. has a one year low of $19.39 and a one year high of $33.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.95 and a 200 day moving average of $28.07.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.83 million. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. SLM’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.71%.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $93,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Compass Point boosted their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target (up from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.18.

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.