SLM (NASDAQ:SLM) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $38.00 price objective on the credit services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $29.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of SLM in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.40.

SLM Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ SLM traded up $0.16 on Friday, reaching $33.57. 2,010,267 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,309,057. SLM has a 12 month low of $19.39 and a 12 month high of $34.97. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $32.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.04. The company has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $374.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.83 million. SLM had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 31.25%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SLM will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. SLM's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.71%.

Insider Transactions at SLM

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLM. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of SLM by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of SLM by 355.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLM during the 1st quarter valued at $62,000. 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.