Millennium Management LLC Buys 152,252 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 206.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 152,252 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.21% of Navient worth $3,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NAVI. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Navient by 815.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,443 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 2,176 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Navient during the fourth quarter worth approximately $167,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Navient by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 12,877 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Navient in the 4th quarter valued at $196,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Navient by 757.3% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 14,737 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 13,018 shares during the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Navient Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ NAVI opened at $13.53 on Friday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $10.53 and a fifty-two week high of $16.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.49.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.09. Navient had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The business had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Navient Co. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Navient’s payout ratio is currently 128.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NAVI has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Navient from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Navient from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, TD Securities increased their price objective on Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.93.

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.