Ensign Peak Advisors Inc trimmed its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Rating) by 28.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,453 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 34,360 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of SLM by 4.0% during the second quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,518 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC raised its position in shares of SLM by 2.5% during the first quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now owns 33,858 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of SLM by 22.4% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,711 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of SLM by 24.1% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,715 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JBF Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of SLM by 7.4% during the second quarter. JBF Capital Inc. now owns 29,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 96.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have weighed in on SLM. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on SLM from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on SLM from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 6th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their target price on SLM from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on SLM from $17.00 to $18.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.92.
SLM Trading Down 5.9 %
SLM (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.79). The company had revenue of $542.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $358.11 million. SLM had a net margin of 19.82% and a return on equity of 27.83%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
SLM Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. SLM’s payout ratio is 25.88%.
About SLM
SLM Corp. engages in the provision and administration of education loans. Its services include private education loans, banking, college savings, and insurance services. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Newark, DE.
Further Reading
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