Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Stake Boosted by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,092,270 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,606 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.02% of Navient worth $17,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Navient in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Navient by 47.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Navient by 22.1% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Navient in the third quarter worth approximately $87,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Navient in the third quarter worth approximately $95,000. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Navient Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ NAVI opened at $15.19 on Friday. Navient Co. has a 1-year low of $13.71 and a 1-year high of $19.68. The company has a current ratio of 9.49, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.19.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $1.20. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.04 million. Navient had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Navient Co. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Navient’s payout ratio is 92.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NAVI shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Navient from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Navient in a research report on Monday, September 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Navient news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 256,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,853,245. This represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

Navient 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.