Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 125,646 Shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its stake in shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV - Free Report) by 54.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 104,072 shares of the company's stock after selling 125,646 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.69% of Carriage Services worth $3,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Carriage Services by 741.8% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 87,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 77,439 shares during the last quarter. Mendel Money Management lifted its position in shares of Carriage Services by 187.5% during the 1st quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 60,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 128,648 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in Carriage Services by 202.9% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 51,023 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 34,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Carriage Services by 7.4% during the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 342,500 shares of the company's stock worth $9,261,000 after purchasing an additional 23,454 shares during the period. 66.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $32.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Insider Activity at Carriage Services

In other Carriage Services news, VP Shawn R. Phillips sold 7,101 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $213,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 90,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,721,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Shawn R. Phillips sold 7,101 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $213,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,721,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Shawn R. Phillips sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.73, for a total value of $148,650.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 97,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,907,623.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Carriage Services Price Performance

Shares of Carriage Services stock traded up $5.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $37.76. 306,908 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 106,246. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.06 and a 12 month high of $38.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $572.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $32.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.32.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $102.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.40 million. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 7.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.1125 dividend. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Carriage Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.17%.

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.