VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Sells 39,500 Shares of SLM Corporation $SLM

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al reduced its stake in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 121,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 39,500 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in SLM were worth $2,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sage Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in SLM by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC now owns 68,062 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in SLM during the 3rd quarter worth $237,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in SLM by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in SLM by 78.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 15,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 6,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in SLM in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLM Trading Up 0.4%

SLM opened at $17.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.54. SLM Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.35 and a fifty-two week high of $31.06.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.36). SLM had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 26.34%. The business had revenue of $375.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $453.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLM Corporation will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 18.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SLM shares. Barclays lowered their target price on SLM from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut SLM from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on SLM from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered SLM from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.44.

SLM Company Profile

SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, is a financial services company focused on helping students and families finance higher education. Its primary business is the origination and servicing of private education loans, which can help cover tuition, fees, books, housing and other eligible education-related expenses not fully covered by federal student aid.

The company offers private student loans for undergraduate and graduate education, as well as loans for career-training programs and other education needs.