Sapient Capital LLC Sells 9,600 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Sapient Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 10.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 83,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 9,600 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in SLM by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 26,541 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its holdings in SLM by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 138,686 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,652,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLM traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,094,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,132,232. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.36. SLM Co. has a one year low of $12.26 and a one year high of $22.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.16.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.18. SLM had a net margin of 25.15% and a return on equity of 45.65%. The company had revenue of $837.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.75%.

SLM announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SLM shares. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.32.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

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.