Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Renasant Co. (NASDAQ:RNST)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Renasant Co. (NASDAQ:RNST) by 48.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,320 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Renasant were worth $513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Renasant in the fourth quarter valued at $17,088,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Renasant in the 4th quarter valued at about $890,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Renasant by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 334,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,953,000 after buying an additional 71,001 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Renasant by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,207,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,666,000 after buying an additional 50,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Renasant by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 107,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,844,000 after buying an additional 37,380 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Renasant from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stephens raised their price target on Renasant from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Renasant from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Renasant in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Renasant from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.17.

Insider Activity

In other Renasant news, CAO Kelly Hutcheson sold 1,310 shares of Renasant stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $48,103.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,757.92. The trade was a 6.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.81% of the company’s stock.

Renasant Stock Up 0.5 %

Renasant stock opened at $28.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.96. Renasant Co. has a fifty-two week low of $26.97 and a fifty-two week high of $39.63.

Renasant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Renasant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.91%.

About Renasant

Renasant Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Renasant Bank that provides a range of financial, wealth management, fiduciary, and insurance services to retail and commercial customers. The company operates through Community Banks, Insurance, and Wealth Management segments. The Community Banks segment offers checking and savings accounts, business and personal loans, asset-based lending, and factoring equipment leasing services, as well as safe deposit and night depository facilities.