Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $4.84 Million Position in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its position in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI - Free Report) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 364,117 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 182,920 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Navient worth $4,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NAVI. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Navient by 815.0% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,443 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Navient in the 4th quarter valued at about $167,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position 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 worth $196,000 after buying an additional 13,018 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Navient during the fourth quarter worth approximately $196,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Navient during the fourth quarter worth approximately $258,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.14% of the company's stock.

Navient Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NAVI traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $13.65. The stock had a trading volume of 554,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 769,437. The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.38. Navient Co. has a 52 week low of $10.53 and a 52 week high of $16.97. 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 50-day moving average of $12.45 and a 200 day moving average of $13.53.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.09. Navient had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 2.96%. The firm had revenue of $156.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $150.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Navient Co. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. Navient's payout ratio is 128.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NAVI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Navient from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Navient from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Navient presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.93.

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.