Vest Financial LLC Has $22.97 Million Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 23.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,104,631 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 210,515 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.50% of SLM worth $22,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in SLM by 1,373.3% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in SLM by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in SLM by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in SLM by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,962 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on SLM from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on SLM from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Insider Transactions at SLM

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.70, for a total value of $102,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 101,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,294,811.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

SLM Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of SLM opened at $20.05 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 6.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.51 and its 200-day moving average is $21.19. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $12.26 and a 12 month high of $23.95.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its earnings results 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. SLM had a return on equity of 41.84% and a net margin of 24.67%. The company had revenue of $783.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. SLM’s payout ratio is 13.75%.

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.