Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 43,542 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 62.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 43,542 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of SLM worth $2,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in SLM by 2.2% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 58,990 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLM during the second quarter valued at about $298,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of SLM during the 2nd quarter worth about $60,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of SLM by 119.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 12,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 7,076 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in SLM by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 166,538 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,462,000 after buying an additional 52,247 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SLM Stock Up 1.6 %

SLM stock opened at $21.58 on Wednesday. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.26 and a fifty-two week high of $23.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.21. The stock has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 6.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.15.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $783.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.97 million. SLM had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on SLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by 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.