Comerica Bank Lowers Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Comerica Bank reduced its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,498 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in SLM were worth $2,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in SLM by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in SLM by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in SLM during the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of SLM by 489.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 3,717 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. This trade represents a 7.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Performance

NASDAQ SLM opened at $32.18 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.64. The company has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year high of $32.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. SLM’s payout ratio is 18.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Compass Point lifted their target price on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.73.

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.