Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $21.84 Million Stock Position in 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. lessened its position in Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NNI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,535,569 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $170,341,000 after acquiring an additional 187,813 shares during the period. Sycale Advisors NY LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Sycale Advisors NY LLC now owns 258,038 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,561,000 after acquiring an additional 54,380 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 13,657.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 34,943 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,876,000 after acquiring an additional 34,689 shares during the period. Western Standard LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nelnet in the 4th quarter worth about $2,614,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,204,798 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $133,648,000 after acquiring an additional 17,271 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nelnet

In other news, major shareholder Shelby J. Butterfield sold 41,929 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.25, for a total transaction of $5,000,033.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,817.50. This trade represents a 98.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 50.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 Price Performance

NNI traded down $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $129.18. The company had a trading volume of 52,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 76,174. The company has a fifty day moving average of $123.32 and a 200-day moving average of $115.88. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 29.42, a quick ratio of 29.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27. Nelnet, Inc. has a one year low of $98.15 and a one year high of $131.06.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The credit services provider reported $5.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Nelnet, Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Nelnet declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 8th that allows the company to buyback 5,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from Nelnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Nelnet's payout ratio is 12.40%.

About Nelnet

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.