Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 735,139 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its stake in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 97.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,176 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 735,139 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 17,781 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,311 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of SLM by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 99,739 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in SLM by 34,005.9% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 5,781 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in SLM during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $198,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in SLM by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 26,541 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLM Trading Down 3.9 %

SLM stock opened at $21.97 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.31. The company has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.15. SLM Co. has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $23.95. 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 (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $783.28 million during 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total transaction of $102,150.00. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush cut their target price on SLM from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, SLM currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.