SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM) Plans $0.13 Quarterly Dividend

SLM Corporation (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 24th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.13 per share by the credit services provider on Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th.

SLM has a dividend payout ratio of 15.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect SLM to earn $3.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.6%.

SLM Stock Performance

SLM stock traded down $1.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $32.01. The company had a trading volume of 2,693,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,614,623. SLM has a 52 week low of $19.39 and a 52 week high of $34.97. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $32.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.22). SLM had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 31.25%. Sell-side analysts forecast that SLM will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $93,450.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,324.25. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLM

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SLM by 33.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,724 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $16,087,000 after purchasing an additional 137,285 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter worth about $263,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,350 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. 98.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of SLM in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on SLM from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.00.

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.

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