Voya Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,934 shares of the company’s stock after selling 394 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Carriage Services were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Carriage Services by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 149,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,975,000 after buying an additional 18,661 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Carriage Services by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 32,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 12,180 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Carriage Services by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 237,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,454,000 after purchasing an additional 34,342 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Carriage Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $342,000. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carriage Services in the 4th quarter valued at $355,000. 66.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

Shares of CSV stock opened at $41.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market cap of $648.85 million, a PE ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.28. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.84 and a 52 week high of $42.75.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.16. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $8.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.17 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.1125 per share. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CSV shares. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 target price (up from $48.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Carriage Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Steven D. Metzger sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total value of $121,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 75,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,081,418.20. This represents a 3.80 % 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 this link. Insiders sold a total of 9,000 shares of company stock worth $362,141 in the last 90 days. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Carriage Services

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.