Xponance Inc. Has $493,000 Stock Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Xponance Inc. lowered its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 30.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,735 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 10,592 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in SLM were worth $493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,136,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $633,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,557 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,453,521 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $92,589,000 after acquiring an additional 859,625 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of SLM by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,461,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $271,626,000 after acquiring an additional 674,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,652,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $22.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.46 and a 200-day moving average of $21.30. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $23.95. The stock has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.15.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.32. SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. The firm had revenue of $783.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on SLM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM 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 approximately $2,294,811.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.