By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI – Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,337 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,674 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.09% of Service Co. International worth $10,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Service Co. International by 8,471.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 297,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,727,000 after acquiring an additional 293,785 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,975,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Service Co. International by 5.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,567,000 after buying an additional 156,086 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Service Co. International by 4,977.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 155,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,279,000 after buying an additional 152,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Service Co. International by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,459,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,487,000 after buying an additional 118,832 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.
Insider Transactions at Service Co. International
In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
SCI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Service Co. International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Service Co. International
Service Co. International Stock Performance
SCI stock opened at $81.31 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.24. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $67.19 and a fifty-two week high of $89.37. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81.
Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. Analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.
Service Co. International Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.06%.
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SCI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Service Co. International Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Service Co. International and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.