Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stake in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) by 15.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,385 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of Carriage Services worth $317,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CSV. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 210.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 7,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 5,128 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,970 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 946,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,500,000 after acquiring an additional 60,532 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 110,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Carriage Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $356,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.41% of the company’s stock.

Carriage Services Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Carriage Services stock opened at $30.88 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.28. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.71 and a 12-month high of $36.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The stock has a market cap of $462.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.90.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 23.72% and a net margin of 8.33%. The business had revenue of $97.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.93 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 7th were given a $0.1125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 4th. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.39%.

Insider Activity at Carriage Services

In related news, CEO Melvin C. Payne sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.49, for a total value of $989,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,167,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,104,278.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Carriage Services in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Carriage Services Company Profile

Carriage Services, Inc provides funeral and cemetery services, and merchandise in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Funeral Home Operations and Cemetery Operations. The Funeral Home Operations segment provides consultation, funeral home facilities for visitation and memorial services, and transportation services; removal and preparation of remains; and sale of burial and cremation services, and related merchandise, such as caskets and urns.