Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 31.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 503,911 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 227,633 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in SLM were worth $11,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in SLM by 46.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLM in the first quarter valued at $216,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 5.7% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 318,099 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,931,000 after purchasing an additional 17,132 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in SLM by 110.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 39,144 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 20,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in SLM by 378.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on SLM from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a 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 report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of SLM from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.45.

SLM Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM opened at $24.47 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.16. 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 $13.93 and a 12-month high of $24.59. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.70.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.40 million. SLM had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 35.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. SLM’s payout ratio is 18.12%.

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.