Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) Shares Acquired by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 319,046 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 47,646 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 2.13% of Carriage Services worth $7,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mendel Money Management increased its position in Carriage Services by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 70,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Carriage Services by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 149,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Carriage Services by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 17,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Carriage Services by 89.8% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CSV shares. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (up previously from $31.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Carriage Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Carriage Services Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE CSV traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $27.09. 40,908 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 99,426. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.62 and a 200 day moving average of $24.58. Carriage Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.06 and a twelve month high of $35.59. The company has a market capitalization of $410.68 million, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.16. Carriage Services had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 22.04%. The firm had revenue of $103.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $0.1125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 6,500 shares of Carriage Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.87, for a total transaction of $168,155.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 38,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,664.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.87, for a total value of $168,155.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 38,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,664.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Shawn R. Phillips sold 10,593 shares of Carriage Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.57, for a total value of $270,863.01. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 113,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,898,308.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,965 shares of company stock worth $640,384. Insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

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.