MQS Management LLC Makes New $621,000 Investment in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 16,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $621,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Carriage Services by 12.0% during the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 30,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 3,289 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Carriage Services by 42.7% during the first quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 81,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,153,000 after buying an additional 24,345 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Carriage Services during the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Carriage Services by 12.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 168,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,513,000 after buying an additional 18,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BayBridge Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Carriage Services during the first quarter valued at about $307,000. 66.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CSV. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 target price (up from $48.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Carriage Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Insider Activity at Carriage Services

In other news, President Steven D. Metzger sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total transaction of $121,800.00. Following the sale, the president directly owned 75,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,081,418.20. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 9,348 shares of company stock worth $378,420 over the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

NYSE:CSV opened at $46.36 on Friday. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.76 and a 12-month high of $47.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $727.31 million, a PE ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.04.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $8.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.17 million. Carriage Services had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 21.96%. Research analysts anticipate that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.1125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.05%.

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.