JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 21,361 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 12.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 146,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 21,361 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Navient were worth $2,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its position in Navient by 27.8% during the third quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,581,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,833,000 after buying an additional 779,973 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Navient during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,345,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Navient during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,327,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in Navient by 59.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 284,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,429,000 after buying an additional 105,454 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Navient during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,398,000. 97.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Navient Price Performance

NAVI stock opened at $14.26 on Wednesday. Navient Co. has a one year low of $12.73 and a one year high of $18.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $14.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.59, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 1.43.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $1.20. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.04 million. Navient had a net margin of 1.71% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Navient Co. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Navient

In other Navient news, EVP Stephen M. Hauber sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 256,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,853,245. The trade was a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 27.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on NAVI. TD Cowen lowered their price target 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. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Navient from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Navient from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.58.

Navient 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.