Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 2,111 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its position in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 59,750 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,111 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Navient were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Navient by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,149,599 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,278,000 after buying an additional 10,788 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Navient by 1.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,092,270 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,028,000 after purchasing an additional 19,606 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Navient by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 892,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,919,000 after purchasing an additional 8,117 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Navient by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 467,232 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,210,000 after purchasing an additional 22,765 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Navient by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 395,948 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,262,000 after purchasing an additional 119,317 shares during the period. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Navient Price Performance

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

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts expect that Navient Co. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.