SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Stock Holdings Lifted by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,052 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in SLM were worth $250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLM in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in SLM by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in SLM during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of SLM by 110.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,310 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,166.91. This represents a 48.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $29.27 on Thursday. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $32.65. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS 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 year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 19.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.