Jennison Associates LLC Decreases Stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,334 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,478 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $4,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Service Co. International by 204.1% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 125.5% during the fourth quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 45.4% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in Service Co. International in the third quarter valued at $80,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director W Blair Waltrip sold 6,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.38, for a total transaction of $457,437.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 8,950 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total transaction of $674,740.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 60,887 shares in the company, valued at $4,590,270.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director W Blair Waltrip sold 6,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.38, for a total value of $457,437.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 597,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,475,372.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 202,675 shares of company stock worth $15,066,906. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI stock opened at $71.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Service Co. International has a 12-month low of $52.89 and a 12-month high of $75.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 13.11%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.62 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.95%.

Service Co. International Company 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.