US Bancorp DE Lowers Holdings in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM)

US Bancorp DE trimmed its position in SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) by 20.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,090 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,844 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in SLM were worth $208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $144,101,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $140,442,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $76,362,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at $69,509,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in SLM by 470.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,126,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,076,000 after acquiring an additional 929,292 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLM has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.00.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $30.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.44 and a 200-day moving average of $30.76. SLM Corporation has a 52 week low of $19.64 and a 52 week high of $34.97.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 15.46% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Insider Activity

In other SLM news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total value of $1,771,550.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.