Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 25,695 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 6.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 371,434 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25,695 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Navient were worth $5,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Navient by 102,163.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 85,901 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,251,000 after buying an additional 85,817 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Navient during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,398,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Navient in the third quarter valued at approximately $511,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Navient in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,327,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Navient by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 284,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,429,000 after buying an additional 105,454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ NAVI opened at $13.29 on Thursday. Navient Co. has a twelve month low of $12.77 and a twelve month high of $18.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 9.49, a current ratio of 9.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $14.71 and its 200-day moving average is $15.10.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $1.20. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $150.04 million. Navient had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 1.71%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Navient Co. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Navient’s payout ratio is currently 92.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 256,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,853,245. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NAVI shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Navient from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Navient from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

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.