Jones Financial Companies Lllp Boosts Stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 59.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,975 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 733 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at $267,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 8,471.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 297,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,727,000 after buying an additional 293,785 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at $1,167,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCI opened at $78.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.53 and its 200 day moving average is $80.14. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $67.19 and a 52 week high of $89.37. 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 data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. Research analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of Service Co. International 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 sale, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,674.96. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

About Service Co. International

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.