The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 187,068 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 8,761 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in SLM were worth $3,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its holdings in SLM by 3.0% in 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 period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 9.9% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,017 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SLM by 6.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 19,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of SLM from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM 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 owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,294,811.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $22.93 on Tuesday. 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 price is $21.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.35. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $23.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a PE ratio of 7.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.15.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $783.28 million for 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 13.75%.

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.