KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $2.79 Million in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 34,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,786,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCI has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $4,228,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the 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. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SCI opened at $79.94 on Thursday. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $67.19 and a 1 year high of $89.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.78 and a 200 day moving average of $80.20. The stock has a market cap of $11.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. 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 yield of 1.60%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is presently 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.