SLM Corporation $SLM Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 681,058 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 65,982 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.32% of SLM worth $20,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SLM. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SLM during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in SLM by 37.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the first quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new position in SLM during the first quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Up 1.1%

SLM stock opened at $31.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.13. SLM Corporation has a 12 month low of $19.64 and a 12 month high of $34.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

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 firm had revenue of $403.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $370.26 million. SLM had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 15.46%.The business’s revenue was down 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. SLM has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.100 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 26.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SLM. Barclays lifted their price target on SLM from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on SLM in a research report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded SLM from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SLM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 31.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.