Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Sells 3,002,219 Shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI) by 83.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 579,092 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,002,219 shares during the quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s holdings in Navient were worth $7,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Navient during the third quarter worth about $174,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Navient in the 4th quarter worth approximately $167,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Navient by 12.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Navient by 757.3% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 14,737 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 13,018 shares during the period. Finally, AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Navient during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $196,000. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Navient Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:NAVI opened at $12.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.36. Navient Co. has a one year low of $12.35 and a one year high of $17.56. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.39.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.01). Navient had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 2.96%. Equities analysts anticipate that Navient Co. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Navient Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. Navient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on NAVI. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Navient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Bank of America decreased their price target on Navient from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Navient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Navient has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.50.

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.