LPL Financial LLC Acquires 74,193 Shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Carriage Services, Inc. by 120.2% during the first quarter, owning a total of 135,893 shares valued at approximately $5.27 million.
• Several institutional investors have also revised their positions, with 66.46% of the stock now owned by hedge funds and others, reflecting growing interest in Carriage Services.
• Carriage Services announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1125 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 0.9%, with the next payment scheduled for September 2nd.

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV - Free Report) by 120.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,893 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 74,193 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.87% of Carriage Services worth $5,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Carriage Services in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Carriage Services in the first quarter worth about $48,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 8,246.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,255 shares of the company's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 3,216 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 4.1% in the first quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,456 shares of the company's stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Carriage Services in the fourth quarter worth about $256,000. Institutional investors own 66.46% of the company's stock.

Carriage Services Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Carriage Services stock traded down $0.64 on Friday, hitting $45.86. The stock had a trading volume of 134,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,996. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.78 and a 200 day moving average of $42.13. Carriage Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.15 and a twelve month high of $49.41. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $719.54 million, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.83.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $102.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.36 million. Carriage Services had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 21.63%. Sell-side analysts expect that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CSV. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $51.00 target price (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Carriage Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Barrington Research upped their price objective on Carriage Services from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised Carriage Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $58.67.

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.