International Assets Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 1,762.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,810 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Navient were worth $173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Navient by 314.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Navient by 165.1% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 70,393 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,212,000 after buying an additional 43,843 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Navient by 367.7% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,795 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 5,342 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its position in shares of Navient by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 29,612 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 1,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Navient by 156.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,480 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 11,267 shares during the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com cut Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Navient in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Navient from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark L. Heleen sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total transaction of $172,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 385,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,631,924.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

Navient Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $15.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.38, a current ratio of 12.52 and a quick ratio of 13.63. Navient Co. has a 1-year low of $14.10 and a 1-year high of $19.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $16.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.08.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $163.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.04 million. Navient had a net margin of 3.93% and a return on equity of 12.09%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Navient Co. will post 1.64 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

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.