Thomas L. Ryan Sells 50,000 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Stock

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of SCI stock traded down $1.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.45. The stock had a trading volume of 966,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,253,355. The company has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. 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 has a 12-month low of $67.19 and a 12-month high of $89.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.15.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Co. International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Service Co. International by 359.8% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 469 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SCI. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

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.