Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Stake Cut by Amundi

Amundi reduced its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 422,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 396 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $33,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Service Co. International by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,900,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,899,000 after acquiring an additional 55,000 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Service Co. International by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 52,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,175,000 after purchasing an additional 7,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 109,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,624,000 after purchasing an additional 5,724 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SCI. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of SCI stock opened at $78.45 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $67.19 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The company has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. As a group, research analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.06%.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $83,066,078.48. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Service Co. International Company 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.