Procyon Advisors LLC Has $710,000 Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,376 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 1,032.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,097,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,824,050 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,458,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,144,000 after buying an additional 1,985,847 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the 4th quarter valued at $87,387,000. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in Service Co. International by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 8,379,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $579,377,000 after buying an additional 905,919 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Service Co. International by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,348,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,353,000 after buying an additional 448,311 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Service Co. International Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of SCI traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $74.40. 74,212 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 847,763. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $52.89 and a 1-year high of $75.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. The company has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $71.14 and a 200 day moving average of $64.71.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Service Co. International had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Service Co. International’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.62 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SCI. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.53, for a total transaction of $5,514,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,674,478.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.53, for a total value of $5,514,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,674,478.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Steven A. Tidwell sold 45,995 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.43, for a total value of $3,469,402.85. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 54,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,099,922.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 202,675 shares of company stock worth $15,066,906. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Company Profile

Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States and Canada. Its funeral service and cemetery operations comprise funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other businesses. The company also provides professional services related to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral home facilities and motor vehicles; arranging and directing services; and removal, preparation, embalming, cremation, memorialization, and travel protection, as well as catering services.