Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Swiss National Bank cut its position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 284,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $22,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,249,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in Service Co. International by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 26,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 35,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth about $191,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth about $237,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SCI. StockNews.com cut shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Oppenheimer increased 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 report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of SCI opened at $79.28 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.17. 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 1 year low of $67.19 and a 1 year high of $89.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G 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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. Analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 1.61%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total value of $4,228,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total transaction of $515,385.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,674.96. The trade was 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 currently owned by insiders.

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.