Man Group plc Sells 41,556 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Man Group plc trimmed its position in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI - Free Report) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 281,496 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 41,556 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned 0.26% of Navient worth $3,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Navient by 815.0% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,443 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Navient during the fourth quarter worth $167,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its stake in Navient by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 12,877 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Navient by 757.3% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 14,737 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 13,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Navient during the fourth quarter worth $196,000. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navient Trading Up 3.0%

NAVI stock traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.65. The stock had a trading volume of 554,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 769,437. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.53. 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 market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.38. Navient Co. has a twelve month low of $10.53 and a twelve month high of $16.97.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $156.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.40 million. Navient had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 2.96%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Navient Co. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on NAVI. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. TD Securities increased their price objective on Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Navient from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Navient from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.93.

Navient Company Profile

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.