Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 62.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 112,871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,542 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in SLM were worth $2,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,108,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in SLM by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,136,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $633,575,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,557 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 6,779.4% during the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 894,116 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $19,483,000 after acquiring an additional 881,119 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its stake in SLM by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,461,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $271,626,000 after purchasing an additional 674,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $8,652,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock opened at $21.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. SLM Co. has a twelve month low of $12.26 and a twelve month high of $23.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 6.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.15.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.75%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,294,811.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. 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 research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

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.