DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Sells 717 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,015 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 717 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.05% of SLM worth $2,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of SLM by 1,373.3% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in SLM by 37.0% during the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in SLM by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $21.74 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.22. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-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 has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.15.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $783.28 million during 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 period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 101,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,294,811.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Company 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.