SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Director Robert S. Strong Sells 40,000 Shares

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

SLM Price Performance

SLM stock opened at $28.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.09. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $18.84 and a 12 month high of $31.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. Equities analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is 19.62%.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in SLM in the second quarter worth $2,443,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,338,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 13.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLM by 187.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $981,000 after purchasing an additional 27,982 shares during the period. Finally, Chickasaw Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in SLM during the third quarter worth about $217,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SLM. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.82.

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.