Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $1.80 Million Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,483 shares of the company’s stock after selling 619 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $1,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SCI. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 110,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new stake in Service Co. International in the third quarter valued at $230,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Service Co. International by 53.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 51,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,094,000 after acquiring an additional 18,132 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the third quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 11.2% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 27,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SCI shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,674.96. This trade represents 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.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCI opened at $79.81 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.91 and a 200-day moving average of $80.20. The firm has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $67.19 and a twelve month high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, equities research analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued 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 is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

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.