SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Sets New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $21.97 and last traded at $21.95, with a volume of 566427 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.32.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. SLM’s payout ratio is presently 18.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet upgraded shares of SLM from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of SLM from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup raised shares of SLM from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $14.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Three equities research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.32.

SLM Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The company’s fifty day moving average is $20.79 and its 200 day moving average is $18.06.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $725.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.20 million. SLM had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 20.65%. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.33) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 14.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at SLM

In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of SLM stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.72, for a total transaction of $1,949,296.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLM

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in SLM by 1,373.3% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of SLM by 81.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of SLM in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of SLM by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.