Northern Trust Corp Raises Stock Position in SLM Corporation $SLM

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in SLM Corporation by 0.6%, owning approximately 2.65 million shares valued at about $78 million.
• Research analysts have provided an overall positive outlook, with nine analysts rating SLM as a Buy and increasing target prices, some as high as $40.
• SLM Corporation recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, indicating a 1.6% yield, with a payout ratio of 26.13%.

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,654,575 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,662 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.26% of SLM worth $77,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in SLM during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in SLM by 37.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in SLM by 355.4% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in SLM during the first quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new position in SLM during the first quarter worth about $132,000. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SLM from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SLM currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kerri A. Palmer sold 55,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.21, for a total transaction of $1,771,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 119,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,841,139.13. This represents a 31.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of SLM opened at $31.73 on Monday. SLM Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $19.64 and a fifty-two week high of $34.97. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $32.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.85. The company has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.17). SLM had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 15.46%.The business had revenue of $403.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $370.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. SLM's quarterly revenue was down 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. SLM has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.100 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that SLM Corporation will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.13%.

SLM 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.

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