242,721 Shares in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Acquired by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. acquired a new stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 242,721 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,046,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the second quarter worth about $2,443,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 4.1% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 80,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of SLM by 24.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 344,635 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,165,000 after purchasing an additional 67,777 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in SLM by 198.7% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 16,437 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 10,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,614,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America initiated coverage on SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SLM Stock Up 1.4 %

SLM stock opened at $22.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.28. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $23.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 7.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.15.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Equities analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

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.