Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,750 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,111 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.06% of Navient worth $794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Navient during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $174,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Navient in the fourth quarter worth $167,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Navient by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 14,173 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Navient during the 3rd quarter worth $256,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Navient in the 4th quarter worth about $258,000. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.50.

Navient Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NAVI stock opened at $12.98 on Thursday. Navient Co. has a 12 month low of $12.35 and a 12 month high of $17.56. The company has a quick ratio of 9.49, a current ratio of 9.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.67 and a 200-day moving average of $14.39.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.01). Navient had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 2.96%. On average, equities analysts predict that Navient Co. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. Navient’s payout ratio is 55.17%.

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.