Securian Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 389 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 263.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 11,530 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,567,000 after acquiring an additional 156,086 shares during the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 1,093,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,721,000 after acquiring an additional 210,802 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 185,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,348,000 after acquiring an additional 3,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of SCI stock opened at $78.55 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.15. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $67.19 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The company has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. Equities analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total value of $4,228,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SCI. StockNews.com downgraded Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Company Profile

Service Corp. International engages in the provision of funeral goods and services. It operates through the Funeral and Cemetery segments. The Funeral segment offers services related to cremations, including the use of home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, memorialization, and catering.