Franklin Resources Inc. Makes New $342,000 Investment in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 8,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $342,000. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.06% of Carriage Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in Carriage Services by 46.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 852 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 228.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,433 shares of the company's stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 14,215 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Carriage Services by 4.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 314,864 shares of the company's stock worth $10,339,000 after purchasing an additional 13,126 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Carriage Services in the third quarter worth about $232,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Carriage Services by 94.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 118,891 shares of the company's stock worth $3,903,000 after purchasing an additional 57,821 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Carriage Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Carriage Services Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE CSV traded down $0.55 on Thursday, hitting $39.22. The stock had a trading volume of 7,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,923. The business's fifty day moving average price is $38.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.55 and a 52-week high of $42.75. The stock has a market cap of $613.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.77.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.11. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $97.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $96.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.1125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Carriage Services's payout ratio is 21.43%.

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.