BlackRock Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,001,610 Cass Information Systems, Inc $CASS

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 1,001,610 shares of Cass Information Systems during the second quarter, worth approximately $51.4 million and representing a 7.78% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 59.08% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.50; recent target increases from Piper Sandler and Raymond James offset a Zacks downgrade to “Hold.”
• Cass reported quarterly earnings of $0.71 per share, slightly below expectations, while announcing a $0.32 quarterly dividend ($1.28 annualized), equating to a 2.3% yield.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cass Information Systems, Inc (NASDAQ:CASS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,001,610 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $51,403,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 7.78% of Cass Information Systems as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cass Information Systems by 5,552.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 539,932 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,418,000 after acquiring an additional 530,380 shares during the last quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cass Information Systems in the 1st quarter worth $4,977,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cass Information Systems in the 4th quarter worth $4,660,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Cass Information Systems in the 2nd quarter worth $3,496,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Cass Information Systems by 1,190.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 71,749 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 66,188 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CASS. Zacks Research cut Cass Information Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $61.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of Cass Information Systems in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Cass Information Systems from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cass Information Systems in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.50.

Cass Information Systems Stock Down 1.0%

CASS stock opened at $56.11 on Tuesday. Cass Information Systems, Inc has a 52 week low of $36.07 and a 52 week high of $59.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $718.77 million, a P/E ratio of 20.18 and a beta of 0.41.

Cass Information Systems (NASDAQ:CASS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $27.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.02 million. Cass Information Systems had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 18.45%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cass Information Systems, Inc will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Cass Information Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Cass Information Systems's payout ratio is presently 46.04%.

Cass Information Systems Profile

Cass Information Systems, Inc provides payment and information processing services to manufacturing, distribution, and retail enterprises in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Information Services and Banking Services. Its services include freight invoice rating, payment processing, auditing, and the generation of accounting and transportation information. The company also processes and pays facility-related invoices, such as electricity, gas, waste, and telecommunications expenses; and provides telecom expense management solutions, as well as church management software solution and on-line platform to provide generosity services for faith-based and non-profit organizations.

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