New York State Teachers Retirement System Trims Holdings in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,066 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.10% of Navient worth $1,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Navient by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Navient during the 3rd quarter worth $95,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Navient by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,360 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in shares of Navient during the 3rd quarter worth $174,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Navient by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 13,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Price Performance

Navient stock opened at $14.02 on Friday. Navient Co. has a 1 year low of $12.73 and a 1 year high of $17.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.80. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.48.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 6.69%. Sell-side analysts predict that Navient Co. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NAVI has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.90.

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.