Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 25,695 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 371,434 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25,695 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Navient worth $5,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NAVI. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Navient by 27.8% during the third quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,581,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,833,000 after purchasing an additional 779,973 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Navient by 12.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,582,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,047,000 after buying an additional 171,160 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Navient by 0.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 322,820 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,700,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Navient by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 240,209 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 31,983 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Navient during the second quarter worth $3,345,000. 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. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Navient in a report on Monday, September 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.75.

Navient Stock Performance

Shares of Navient stock opened at $14.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $15.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.21. The company has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42 and a beta of 1.39. Navient Co. has a one year low of $13.71 and a one year high of $19.68.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $1.20. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.04 million. Navient had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Navient Co. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 256,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,853,245. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.