Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. Has $223,000 Stock Holdings in SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM)

Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of SLM Co. (NASDAQ:SLM - Free Report) by 55.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,085 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 10,024 shares during the period. Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P.'s holdings in SLM were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of SLM by 86.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 971 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in SLM by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in SLM in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of SLM during the 4th quarter worth $114,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of SLM by 489.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,476 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of SLM from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (up from $31.00) on shares of SLM in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on SLM from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on SLM from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLM presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.73.

SLM Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLM traded up $1.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.19. The stock had a trading volume of 2,562,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,217,905. The business's 50-day moving average price is $28.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.30. SLM Co. has a 52 week low of $19.39 and a 52 week high of $32.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

SLM (NASDAQ:SLM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $374.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.83 million. SLM had a net margin of 20.73% and a return on equity of 31.66%. SLM's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that SLM Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

SLM Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. SLM's dividend payout ratio is 18.71%.

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.