SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Reaches New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $28.99 and last traded at $28.79, with a volume of 157370 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.57.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLM has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of SLM from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on SLM from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.90.

SLM Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.18 and a 200-day moving average of $23.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.06). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at $2,265,292.50. This represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SLM. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of SLM by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of SLM by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position 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 valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in SLM by 5.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.94% 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.