Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Sells 935 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,120 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 935 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in SLM by 358.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in SLM by 110.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,310 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. This represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $28.20 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.54 and its 200 day moving average is $23.49. SLM Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.25 and a fifty-two week high of $28.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.29.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. The business had revenue of $652.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on SLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on SLM from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.45.

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.