Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 2,119 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,119 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in SLM were worth $1,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,959 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 26,541 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLM by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,017 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in SLM by 0.3% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 402,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,294,811.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Stock Up 3.4 %

SLM stock opened at $22.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.38 and its 200 day moving average is $21.33. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.15. SLM Co. has a 1-year low of $12.26 and a 1-year high of $23.95.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $783.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.97 million. SLM had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 41.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SLM. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.