Truist Financial Corp Sells 293,796 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Truist Financial Corp reduced its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 28.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 738,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 293,796 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in SLM were worth $15,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in SLM by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,959 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 26,541 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in SLM by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 99,739 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of SLM by 9.9% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,017 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of SLM by 0.3% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 402,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the 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 approximately $2,294,811.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

SLM Stock Up 3.4 %

SLM opened at $22.76 on Friday. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $23.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $21.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.32. The company has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.32. SLM had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. The firm had revenue of $783.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

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.