Billionaire Leon Cooperman’s Top Dividend Picks

#3 Navient Corp (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Shares Owned by Omega Advisors (as of June 30): 7.73 million

Value of Holding (as of June 30): $140.76 million

Current Dividend Yield: 4.94%

Omega Advisors sold off a portion of its stake in Navient Corp (NASDAQ:NAVI) during the quarter, which added up to 449,140 shares. The loan management, servicing and asset recovery company pays out an annualized dividend per share of $0.64, which currently generates a 4.94% dividend yield. The company had a terrible third quarter in terms of stock performance, as its shares lost 37% during the three-month period. Nevertheless, the stock has bounced back since the end of September, advancing by 23% thus far. Just a few days ago, Navient released its third quarter earnings report, which pleased the market despite it disclosing lower earnings relative to last year. The company posted GAAP net income of $237 million or $0.63 per diluted share, compared to $359 million or $0.85 reported a year ago. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management reported ownership of 6.62 million shares of Navient Corp (NASDAQ:NAVI) through its 13F filing for the June quarter.

#2 Targa Resources Corp (NYSE:TRGP)

Shares Owned by Omega Advisors (as of June 30): 1.77 million shares

Value of Holding (as of June 30): $157.76 million

Current Dividend Yield: 6.21%

Targa Resources Corp (NYSE:TRGP) made the list of Leon Cooperman’s ten largest equity holdings at the end of the June quarter. However, Omega Advisors reduced its stake in the general partner of midstream master limited partnership (MLP) Targa Resources Partners LP by 192,416 shares during the second quarter. On October 20, the company announced a third quarter cash dividend of $0.91 per share, or $3.64 per share on an annualized basis. The freshly-announced dividend marks an increase of roughly 4% quarter-over-quarter and 24% year-over-year, and also adds up to a current dividend yield of 6.21%. The shares of Targa Resources lost slightly more than 41% during the latest quarter, but have advanced by nearly 14% since the end of that three-month period. Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital owned almost 435,000 shares of Targa Resources Corp (NYSE:TRGP) on June 30.

#1 Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE:CIM)

Shares Owned by Omega Advisors (as of June 30): 14.13 million shares

Value of Holding (as of June 30): $193.68 million

Current Dividend Yield: 13.53%

Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE:CIM) was the sixth-largest equity holding of Omega Advisors at the end of the second quarter, accounting for 3.09% of its portfolio value. The specialty finance company pays out an annualized dividend of $1.92, which provides a current annualized dividend yield of 13.53%. In mid-September, the company’s Board of Directors announced a third quarter cash dividend of $0.48 per common share, and also stated that it anticipates maintaining a minimum quarterly dividend of the same amount for the fourth quarter as well. When it comes to the company’s stock performance, the shares of Chimera returned 0.09% during the third quarter and are slightly over 10% in the red year-to-date. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management acquired a 4 million-share stake in Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE:CIM) during the June quarter.

Disclosure: None