BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 37,665 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its holdings in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI - Free Report) by 55.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,385 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 37,665 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Navient were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 59.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 284,130 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,429,000 after acquiring an additional 105,454 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 2,193.7% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 20,276 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 19,392 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 467,232 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,210,000 after acquiring an additional 22,765 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 21,526 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 6,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 343,341 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,563,000 after acquiring an additional 18,760 shares in the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Navient Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:NAVI traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.38. 483,320 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 768,297. The stock has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.38. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $10.53 and a 12-month high of $16.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.53.

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

Navient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. Navient's dividend payout ratio is currently 128.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NAVI has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen downgraded Navient from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Navient from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Navient from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Navient presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.