Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Purchased by Bell Asset Management Ltd

Bell Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,347 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,433 shares during the period. Bell Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.05% of Service Co. International worth $6,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of Service Co. International 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. This represents a 4.84 % 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.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCI opened at $77.06 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $67.19 and a fifty-two week high of $89.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.22. The firm has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last released its quarterly 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 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 fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. 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 (DPR) is 36.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SCI. Oppenheimer upped their price target 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 upgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to 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 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.