Shares of SBI Cards and Payment Services fell over 4 percent on Wednesday after over 4 crore equity shares of the firm changed hands via a block deal.

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According to reports, private equity firm Carlyle sold the 4 percent stake in the country’s second-largest credit card firm for around Rs 3,728 crore. The sale price has been fixed at Rs 981.80-1,022.10 apiece, down 3.9 percent than Tuesday's closing price of Rs 1,022.

The stock fell as much as 4.3 percent to its day's low of Rs 977.20 per share on the BSE.

Carlyle held a 15.86 percent stake in SBI Cards and Payment Services at the end of trade on March 16, 2021. BofA Securities is the sole book-runner to the transaction.

In 2017, the private equity firm acquired a 26 percent stake in the firm from the GE Group for Rs 2,000 crore. It later partially exited the firm during the IPO.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,300. As per the brokerage, the company is a pure-play on the unsecured consumer finance opportunity in India. With a strong parentage, the State Bank of India (SBI), it is a differentiating factor as far as SBI Card is concerned, it added.

The brokerage further noted that SBI Cards has demonstrated a strong track record in growing its cards book/earnings and that this has enabled it to strengthen its lead as the second-largest card player in terms of both outstanding cards and spends.

"We think the key catalyst for re-rating will have to be a year-after-year reduction in credit costs, articulation of innovations, as well as defense mechanisms against fintech. Reasons for de-rating are more likely to be a rise in credit costs or subdued growth," it said in the report.