PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Raises Holdings in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,885 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in SLM were worth $467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SLM. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of SLM in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in SLM by 37.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in SLM by 355.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 1,482 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new position in SLM during the 1st quarter worth approximately $132,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SLM during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total transaction of $1,771,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 119,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,841,139.13. This trade represents a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $33.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. SLM Corporation has a 52 week low of $19.64 and a 52 week high of $34.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.13.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $403.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $370.26 million. SLM had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 15.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 26.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SLM. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised SLM from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.00.

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.