Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 284,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Service Co. International worth $22,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCI. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 110,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted 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. StockNews.com cut Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

SCI opened at $79.28 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.17. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $67.19 and a 52-week high of $89.37. The company has a market cap of $11.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. 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 (NYSE:SCI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

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.