Shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $27.00 to $29.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Approximately 1,507,940 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the previous session’s volume of 2,321,615 shares.The stock last traded at $28.07 and had previously closed at $27.63.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on SLM. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on SLM from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America started coverage on SLM in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of SLM in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.90.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on SLM

Insider Buying and Selling at SLM

In other SLM news, Director Robert S. Strong sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $122,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 83,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,292.50. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLM

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLM. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Cooper Financial Group bought a new position in SLM in the fourth quarter valued at about $220,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in SLM by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 224,900 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,203,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in SLM by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in SLM by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,740 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the period. 98.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLM Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.53.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.30). SLM had a return on equity of 35.92% and a net margin of 22.18%. The business had revenue of $652.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SLM Co. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

SLM Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is a boost from SLM’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. SLM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.12%.

About SLM

(Get Free Report)

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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