Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 854,339 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,448 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 5.70% of Carriage Services worth $24,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Carriage Services during the 3rd quarter worth $208,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Carriage Services by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Carriage Services by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 147,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,177,000 after purchasing an additional 2,415 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC boosted its stake in Carriage Services by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC now owns 11,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Carriage Services by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 4,177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.46% of the company’s stock.

Carriage Services Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of CSV stock opened at $24.24 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $25.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market cap of $366.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.84. Carriage Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.06 and a twelve month high of $35.59.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $98.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.27 million. Carriage Services had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 21.39%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a $0.1125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CSV. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Carriage Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th.

Insider Activity at Carriage Services

In related news, EVP Steven D. Metzger sold 1,388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total value of $35,505.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,099,300.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Carriage Services news, EVP Steven D. Metzger sold 1,388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total transaction of $35,505.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,975 shares in the company, valued at $1,099,300.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Melvin C. Payne sold 3,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total transaction of $90,143.92. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,129,809 shares in the company, valued at $28,900,514.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,372 shares of company stock worth $369,521. Company insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

Carriage Services Profile

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