Kendall Capital Management Trims Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Kendall Capital Management decreased its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,835 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,250 shares during the period. Kendall Capital Management’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of SLM by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of SLM by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 4.8% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of SLM by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of SLM by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,052 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 960 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $29.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.59. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.39 and a fifty-two week high of $32.65.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. As a group, equities analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the topic of several research reports. Compass Point raised their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.91.

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.