Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Holdings Raised by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,353,454 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,432 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Service Co. International worth $1,145,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Service Co. International by 110,300.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Service Co. International by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total transaction of $4,228,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. The trade was 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.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI stock opened at $80.19 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. Service Co. International has a 12-month low of $67.19 and a 12-month high of $89.37.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 36.06%.

About Service Co. International

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.