Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC Sells 20,177 Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 31,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 20,177 shares during the period. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in SLM were worth $860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SLM. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in SLM by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $933,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of SLM by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLM Price Performance

NASDAQ:SLM opened at $29.09 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.22. SLM Co. has a 12 month low of $19.27 and a 12 month high of $31.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $27.89 and its 200 day moving average is $24.39.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last posted 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 return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 20.73%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on SLM from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Compass Point upped their price target on SLM from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SLM from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In related news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 83,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,265,292.50. This represents a 5.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

About SLM

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.