Johnson Financial Group Inc. Buys New Holdings in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Carriage Services by 217.3% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 3,412 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carriage Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Carriage Services during the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new stake in Carriage Services in the 4th quarter worth about $234,000. 66.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

Shares of Carriage Services stock opened at $40.43 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.70 and a 200-day moving average of $38.80. The company has a market cap of $632.73 million, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.17 and a 1-year high of $42.75.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last issued 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. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $97.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.1125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Carriage Services’s payout ratio is currently 21.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised Carriage Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Activity at Carriage Services

In other news, President Steven D. Metzger sold 2,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 78,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,156,668.97. This represents a 3.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Carriage Services 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.