Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 5,995 Shares of Nelnet, Inc. $NNI

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Nelnet, Inc. by 9.3% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 58,728 shares valued at $6.52 million.
• Nelnet recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share, announcing a yield of 1.0%, up from the previous $0.28.
• Analysts upgraded Nelnet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating increased confidence in the company's stock performance.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE:NNI - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,728 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 5,995 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.16% of Nelnet worth $6,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NNI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nelnet by 13.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,535,569 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $170,341,000 after buying an additional 187,813 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position 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. Sycale Advisors NY LLC lifted its position 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. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nelnet by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 121,232 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $13,448,000 after purchasing an additional 3,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Nelnet by 7.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 58,415 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,480,000 after purchasing an additional 3,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.51% of the company's stock.

Nelnet Trading Down 0.3%

NNI stock traded down $0.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $124.09. The company had a trading volume of 62,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 68,034. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $125.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.19. Nelnet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.15 and a 12 month high of $136.17. The company has a quick ratio of 29.41, a current ratio of 29.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27. The stock has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Nelnet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Nelnet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Nelnet's payout ratio is 13.29%.

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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas Edward Henning sold 3,102 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.87, for a total value of $399,754.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Shelby J. Butterfield sold 41,929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.25, for a total value of $5,000,033.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,817.50. This represents a 98.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,125 shares of company stock valued at $6,056,252. 50.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.