Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 5,075 Shares of Nelnet, Inc. $NNI

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Nelnet, Inc. by 2.5% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 196,894 shares valued at $21.84 million.
• Nelnet recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.30 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 12.40%.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded Nelnet's stock rating from "hold" to "strong-buy", indicating a positive outlook for future growth.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 0.54% of Nelnet worth $21,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nelnet by 1.5% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,204,798 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $133,648,000 after purchasing an additional 17,271 shares during the last quarter. Sycale Advisors NY LLC raised its stake in shares of Nelnet by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Sycale Advisors NY LLC now owns 258,038 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,561,000 after purchasing an additional 54,380 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Nelnet by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,492 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,820,000 after purchasing an additional 5,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nelnet by 4.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 46,343 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.51% of the company's stock.

Nelnet Stock Performance

Shares of NNI traded up $0.75 on Wednesday, reaching $130.07. 1,874 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 65,611. The company has a current ratio of 29.42, a quick ratio of 29.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $123.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.78. Nelnet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.15 and a 52-week high of $131.06.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $5.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $3.14. The company had revenue of $540.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.40 million. Nelnet had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 14.86%. On average, analysts forecast that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nelnet declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase 5,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from Nelnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Nelnet's dividend payout ratio is 13.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Nelnet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note 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.