Carriage Services, Inc. $CSV Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Carriage Services by 2.6%, owning approximately 6.02% of the company, valued at around $36.48 million.
• Carriage Services reported earnings of $0.74 per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.72, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1125 per share.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Carriage Services, with Barrington Research increasing it from $50.00 to $60.00, while the average price target is set at $58.67, reflecting a strong outlook for the stock.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 941,412 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,138 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.02% of Carriage Services worth $36,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Carriage Services by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Carriage Services by 4.1% during the first quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Carriage Services by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Carriage Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Carriage Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.46% of the company's stock.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

Shares of Carriage Services stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.70. 185,234 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 120,397. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.43. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.15 and a 52-week high of $49.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $686.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.83.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. Carriage Services had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 21.63%. The company had revenue of $102.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.36 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a $0.1125 dividend. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Carriage Services's payout ratio is 13.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Shane Pudenz sold 13,027 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total value of $577,877.72. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 14,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $662,294.80. The trade was a 46.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barrington Research increased their target price on shares of Carriage Services from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Carriage Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Carriage Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $51.00 price target (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $58.67.

Carriage Services Company 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.