SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Sets New 12-Month High at $21.79

SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $21.79 and last traded at $21.68, with a volume of 49681 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLM. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of SLM from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $20.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of SLM from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of SLM in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of SLM from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLM currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.77.

SLM Trading Up 0.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.16. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $20.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.15). SLM had a net margin of 20.65% and a return on equity of 36.86%. The company had revenue of $725.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.33) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that SLM Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. SLM's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.33%.

SLM declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 14.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board 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 that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Donna F. Vieira sold 12,308 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $249,483.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,564,155. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonathan Boyles sold 94,078 shares of SLM stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 owns 52,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in SLM by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,136,784 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $633,575,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,557 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in SLM by 0.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 21,483,681 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $350,614,000 after acquiring an additional 75,771 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in SLM by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,786,932 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $225,574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,969,885 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of SLM by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,605,432 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $81,839,000 after buying an additional 988,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of SLM by 53.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,530,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $83,171,000 after buying an additional 1,570,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

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.