Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Lowers Stock Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 766,741 shares of the company’s stock after selling 78,622 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $61,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Service Co. International by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 136,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $257,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,786,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Service Co. International by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 122,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,800,000 after buying an additional 3,359 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Service Co. International Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SCI opened at $78.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $67.19 and a 1 year high of $89.37. The company has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $78.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.20.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. Sell-side analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on SCI. StockNews.com downgraded Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total value of $4,228,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Service Co. International

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.