Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) Shares Sold by Donald Smith & CO. Inc.

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI - Free Report) by 83.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 579,092 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,002,219 shares during the quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned 0.54% of Navient worth $7,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Navient during the fourth quarter worth $167,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Navient during the 3rd quarter worth about $174,000. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Navient during the 4th quarter valued at about $196,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Navient by 757.3% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 14,737 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 13,018 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Navient by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 14,173 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares in the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on NAVI. TD Cowen raised Navient from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Navient from $13.50 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Navient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Navient has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.00.

Navient Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NAVI traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $11.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 250,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 786,603. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 1.24. Navient Co. has a 1-year low of $10.53 and a 1-year high of $17.28.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.01). Navient had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 6.69%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Navient Co. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Navient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.17%.

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.