Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New $3.57 Million Investment in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 89,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,566,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.59% of Carriage Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Carriage Services by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 734,828 shares of the company's stock worth $29,283,000 after purchasing an additional 9,080 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Carriage Services by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 590,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,548,000 after acquiring an additional 65,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Carriage Services by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 315,936 shares of the company's stock worth $12,593,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Carriage Services by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 237,228 shares of the company's stock worth $9,454,000 after buying an additional 34,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Carriage Services by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 149,949 shares of the company's stock worth $5,975,000 after buying an additional 18,661 shares in the last quarter. 66.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CSV. Wall Street Zen upgraded Carriage Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 11th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $51.00 price target (up from $48.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Carriage Services news, President Steven D. Metzger sold 2,492 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.01, for a total transaction of $99,704.92. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 9,000 shares of company stock valued at $362,141 in the last three months. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

Shares of CSV stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $44.59. The company had a trading volume of 67,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 110,849. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.84 and a 52-week high of $44.92. The stock has a market cap of $699.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.93. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $40.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.09.

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

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.1125 per share. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Carriage Services's payout ratio is 15.05%.

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.