SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Position Lifted by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth $86,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 314.7% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 212,531 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,813,000 after buying an additional 161,283 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $218,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of SLM by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 30,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of SLM by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,052 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock opened at $31.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.10. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $19.39 and a 52-week high of $34.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $30.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.19. 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 (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The company had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. SLM’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. SLM’s payout ratio is 18.71%.

SLM Company Profile

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.