Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Sells 234,950 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,674,013 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 234,950 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $84,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in SLM by 6.0% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 120,732 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,595,000 after buying an additional 6,837 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 208.2% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 98,866 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,055,000 after acquiring an additional 66,789 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 170.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,917 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 9,393 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in SLM by 362.9% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 338,534 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,038,000 after buying an additional 265,394 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the 2nd quarter valued at $235,000. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of SLM in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.45.

SLM Stock Down 3.0 %

SLM stock opened at $26.56 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $15.64 and a 12 month high of $28.22. The company has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.01.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. The business had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is an increase from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.33%.

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.