Amalgamated Bank Reduces Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Amalgamated Bank decreased its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,952 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,561 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank owned about 0.07% of Service Co. International worth $6,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Service Co. International in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 204.1% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 599 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 125.5% during the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Service Co. International news, Director Victor L. Lund sold 7,606 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $532,420.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director W Blair Waltrip sold 6,150 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.38, for a total value of $457,437.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 597,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,475,372.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victor L. Lund sold 7,606 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $532,420.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 211,292 shares of company stock valued at $15,670,096 over the last quarter. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SCI shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.00.

Service Co. International Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE SCI opened at $67.59 on Monday. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $52.89 and a 52 week high of $75.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $72.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.81.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is 33.33%.

Service Co. International Profile

Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States and Canada. Its funeral service and cemetery operations comprise funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other businesses. The company also provides professional services related to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral home facilities and motor vehicles; arranging and directing services; and removal, preparation, embalming, cremation, memorialization, and travel protection, as well as catering services.