Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Bought by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $1,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Service Co. International by 263.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,530 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Service Co. International by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,567,000 after purchasing an additional 156,086 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 185,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,348,000 after acquiring an additional 3,375 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 920,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,452,000 after acquiring an additional 5,074 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,229,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 firm’s 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Service Co. International stock opened at $78.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $67.19 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $78.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.18. 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 (NYSE:SCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

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.