Group One Trading LLC Raises Stock Position in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

Group One Trading LLC boosted its holdings in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV - Free Report) by 17,500.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,424 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,325 shares during the period. Group One Trading LLC owned 0.11% of Carriage Services worth $694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Carriage Services in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Carriage Services in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Carriage Services by 217.3% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 3,412 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carriage Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carriage Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Carriage Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Steven D. Metzger sold 2,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.01, for a total transaction of $99,704.92. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 78,897 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,156,668.97. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 9,000 shares of company stock valued at $362,141 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Carriage Services Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE CSV traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.14. The stock had a trading volume of 60,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,297. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $661.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.93. Carriage Services, Inc. has a one year low of $25.84 and a one year high of $44.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.81.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $8.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.17 million. Carriage Services had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 23.52%. Sell-side analysts predict that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.1125 dividend. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Carriage Services's payout ratio is currently 15.05%.

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.