SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) by 22.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,429 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners increased its holdings in SLM by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,246,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $338,889,000 after buying an additional 456,415 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of SLM by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,529,496 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $207,664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111,699 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $144,101,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of SLM by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,175,645 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $142,744,000 after acquiring an additional 338,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth about $140,442,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $31.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. SLM Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $34.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.29. The company has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.10.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 31.25% and a net margin of 21.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 note on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.30.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by 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.