Franklin Resources Inc. Buys Shares of 8,582 Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $342,000. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Carriage Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in Carriage Services by 46.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 852 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Carriage Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Carriage Services by 217.3% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,000 after acquiring an additional 3,412 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Carriage Services in the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.46% of the company’s stock.

Carriage Services Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE CSV opened at $39.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $617.85 million, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.77. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.49 and a 12 month high of $42.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.34.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $97.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.72 million. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 8.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.1125 dividend. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered Carriage Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

About Carriage Services

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.