M&T Bank Corp Decreases Position in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its holdings in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) by 11.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 955 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in SLM were worth $214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 355.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter valued at about $132,000. Finally, Mariner LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $32.83 on Friday. SLM Corporation has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year high of $34.97. The stock has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.84 and a 200 day moving average of $30.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.83 million. SLM had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 31.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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 lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.40.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.