World Investment Advisors Cuts Stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

World Investment Advisors cut its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Service Co. International were worth $1,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SCI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,498,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 237.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 911,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,739,000 after purchasing an additional 641,552 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 8,471.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 297,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,727,000 after purchasing an additional 293,785 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at $12,975,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,567,000 after buying an additional 156,086 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total transaction of $515,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,712,674.96. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Service Co. International Stock Down 5.3 %

SCI stock opened at $77.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business’s 50-day moving average is $79.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.22. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $67.19 and a fifty-two week high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. As a group, analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is presently 36.06%.

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.