Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys New Stake in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSV. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 46.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 852 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its position in Carriage Services by 613.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 1,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 5,001.0% during the 2nd quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 5,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 5,001 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 1,074.3% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 4,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carriage Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 66.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total transaction of $188,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 34,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,791.48. The trade was a 12.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

Shares of CSV stock opened at $39.26 on Tuesday. 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 12-month low of $22.84 and a 12-month high of $42.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.80. The company has a market capitalization of $597.65 million, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.93.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $100.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.49 million. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 8.57%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. Analysts expect that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.1125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barrington Research raised their price target on shares of Carriage Services from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday.

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.