Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 16,899 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Corebridge Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 240,247 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 16,899 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned 0.11% of SLM worth $6,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SLM. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP boosted its position in SLM by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 251,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,949,000 after purchasing an additional 74,109 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of SLM by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,954 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of SLM in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,611,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of SLM by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,175,645 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $142,744,000 after acquiring an additional 338,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of SLM by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 21,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 9,974 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of SLM stock opened at $28.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.40. SLM Co. has a 1 year low of $19.39 and a 1 year high of $32.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. Equities research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. SLM’s payout ratio is 19.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,142,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,163 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SLM shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.45.

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.