SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) Shares Sold by Caxton Associates LP

Caxton Associates LP cut its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 91.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,488 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 137,274 shares during the quarter. Caxton Associates LP’s holdings in SLM were worth $260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in SLM by 3.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 3.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in SLM by 1.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in SLM by 9.9% during 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 in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,294,811.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $22.56 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.28. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $23.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.15.

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

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. SLM’s payout ratio is currently 13.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

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.