Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 21,146 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 564,014 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 21,146 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.27% of SLM worth $15,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SLM. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,261,000 after acquiring an additional 119,796 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter worth $262,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in SLM by 32.2% during the 4th 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. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in SLM by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,565 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLM has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays raised their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.82.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $33.58 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.49. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $19.39 and a 1-year high of $33.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The firm has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.71%.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.