Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,353,454 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,432 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.92% of Service Co. International worth $1,145,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Service Co. International by 110,300.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Service Co. International by 20.1% during the fourth 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. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Service Co. International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,066,078.48. The trade was 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 Price Performance

Shares of SCI stock opened at $80.19 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.20. The company has a market capitalization of $11.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $67.19 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted 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 net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is 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 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.