Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 5,355 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 13.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 35,305 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,355 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in SLM were worth $807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of SLM by 117.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 73,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after buying an additional 39,519 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of SLM by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 594,514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,954,000 after purchasing an additional 97,442 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLM by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 593,201 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,926,000 after buying an additional 220,154 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of SLM by 77.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 64,514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,406,000 after buying an additional 28,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in SLM by 50.7% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 290,636 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 97,832 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.83.

SLM Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $23.64 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.71 and its 200-day moving average is $21.44. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $12.26 and a 1 year high of $23.95. The company has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $368.97 million. SLM had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is 13.71%.

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.