Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 6,265 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,086,005 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 6,265 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Navient were worth $14,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Navient in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,398,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Navient during the 3rd quarter valued at about $511,000. EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in Navient by 2,193.7% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 20,276 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 19,392 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Navient during the 3rd quarter valued at about $714,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Navient by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 284,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,429,000 after purchasing an additional 105,454 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Stock Up 1.0 %

NAVI stock opened at $13.54 on Friday. Navient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.73 and a fifty-two week high of $17.56. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $13.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.48. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.36.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.01). Navient had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 2.96%. As a group, analysts forecast that Navient Co. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.73%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.90.

Navient Company Profile

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.