Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Position in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) by 93.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 37,093 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $79,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $32.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $32.84 and a 200 day moving average of $30.19. The firm has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.09. SLM Corporation has a one year low of $19.39 and a one year high of $34.97.

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

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. SLM’s payout ratio is 18.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SLM. Barclays boosted their price objective on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of SLM in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 value of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,324.25. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.