Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Nelnet, Inc. $NNI

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,894 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,075 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Nelnet worth $21,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Nelnet by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,535,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $170,341,000 after purchasing an additional 187,813 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Nelnet during the 1st quarter valued at $384,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Nelnet during the 1st quarter valued at $401,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Nelnet during the 1st quarter valued at $304,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Nelnet by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 29,122 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,278 shares in the last quarter. 33.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nelnet Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:NNI opened at $124.7060 on Friday. Nelnet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.15 and a 52-week high of $130.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.00 and a 200 day moving average of $115.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 29.41 and a current ratio of 29.42.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $5.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $3.14. Nelnet had a net margin of 14.86% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The company had revenue of $540.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.40 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Nelnet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Nelnet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.40%.

Nelnet announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 8th that allows the company to repurchase 5,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nelnet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th.

Nelnet Company Profile

Nelnet, Inc engages in loan servicing, communications, education technology, services, and payment processing businesses worldwide. The Loan Servicing and Systems segment provides loan conversion, application processing, borrower updates, customer service, payment processing, due diligence procedures, funds management reconciliation, and claim processing services.