SLM Corporation $SLM Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) by 20.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,853 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,606 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in SLM were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $144,101,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $140,442,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,362,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,509,000. Finally, M.D. Sass LLC acquired a new stake in SLM in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,317,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLM Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of SLM stock opened at $30.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.13. 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 fifty-two week low of $19.64 and a fifty-two week high of $34.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.80.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.17). SLM had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 15.46%. The firm had revenue of $403.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $370.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. SLM’s payout ratio is 26.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total value of $1,771,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 119,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,841,139.13. The trade was a 31.56% 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SLM shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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 increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.00.

SLM 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.