Kendall Capital Management Trims Stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Kendall Capital Management trimmed its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,835 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,250 shares during the quarter. Kendall Capital Management’s holdings in SLM were worth $1,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in SLM by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in SLM by 86.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in SLM by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in SLM by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in SLM by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,052 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLM Stock Performance

Shares of SLM stock opened at $29.46 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.09 and a 200 day moving average of $25.59. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $32.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.23. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on SLM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point increased their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.91.

Insider Activity at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,142,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,166.91. This trade represents a 48.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.