Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) Shares Sold by Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lowered its stake in shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) by 79.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,303 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,877 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC’s holdings in Carriage Services were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Carriage Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Carriage Services in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 217.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carriage Services in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carriage Services in the fourth quarter worth $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Carriage Services

In other news, President Steven D. Metzger sold 2,492 shares of Carriage Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.01, for a total value of $99,704.92. Following the sale, the president now owns 78,897 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,668.97. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,000 shares of company stock worth $362,141. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CSV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Carriage Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 11th.

Carriage Services Stock Up 1.3%

CSV stock opened at $43.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $689.79 million, a PE ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $39.13 and its 200 day moving average is $39.63. Carriage Services, Inc. has a one year low of $25.84 and a one year high of $44.35.

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

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.05%.

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.