O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Has $2.53 Million Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,719 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,617 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $2,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SCI. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Service Co. International by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

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

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE SCI opened at $81.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.20 and a 200-day moving average of $80.24. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $67.19 and a 1-year high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International 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.