Arizona State Retirement System Has $3.35 Million Stock Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,948 shares of the company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $3,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Service Co. International by 36.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Service Co. International by 110,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Service Co. International by 20.1% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SCI. Oppenheimer increased their price target on 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 downgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

SCI stock opened at $80.94 on Monday. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $67.19 and a 1-year 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.08. The firm has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued 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%. As a group, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total transaction of $515,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

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.