Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 443,936 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,195,054 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 443,936 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Navient worth $189,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Navient by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,586,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $66,781,000 after buying an additional 858,890 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Navient by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,138,526 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $19,605,000 after buying an additional 78,186 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Navient by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 811,826 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,116,000 after purchasing an additional 65,576 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Navient in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,546,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Navient by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 704,608 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,133,000 after purchasing an additional 89,220 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NAVI shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Navient from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Navient from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.10.

Navient Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NAVI opened at $14.41 on Wednesday. Navient Co. has a 12 month low of $13.96 and a 12 month high of $19.69. The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.38, a current ratio of 12.52 and a quick ratio of 12.52.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. Navient had a net margin of 3.93% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $163.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.04 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Navient Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark L. Heleen sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total value of $160,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 393,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,297,776. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

About Navient

Navient Corporation provides technology-enabled education finance and business processing solutions for education, health care, and government clients in the United States. It operates through three segments: Federal Education Loans, Consumer Lending, and Business Processing. The company owns Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans that are insured or guaranteed by state or not-for-profit agencies; and performs servicing on its portfolios, as well as federal education loans held by other institutions.