Sterling Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 61.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 276,151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 446,981 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $7,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. The trade was a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ SLM opened at $25.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.32. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year high of $32.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.86.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Compass Point raised their target price on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.18.

SLM 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.