Retirement Systems of Alabama Decreases Stock Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,042 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158,719 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.13% of Service Co. International worth $12,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the third quarter worth $14,350,000. Coho Partners Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 14.4% during the third quarter. Coho Partners Ltd. now owns 1,899,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,518,000 after acquiring an additional 238,439 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 47.7% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 608,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,796,000 after acquiring an additional 196,739 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 163.7% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 309,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,792,000 after acquiring an additional 192,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 15.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 944,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,374,000 after purchasing an additional 123,837 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other news, VP Steven A. Tidwell sold 45,995 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.43, for a total transaction of $3,469,402.85. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 54,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,099,922.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Service Co. International news, VP Steven A. Tidwell sold 45,995 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.43, for a total transaction of $3,469,402.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 54,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,099,922.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total transaction of $674,740.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 60,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,590,270.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 202,675 shares of company stock worth $15,066,906 in the last 90 days. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SCI. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.00.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI opened at $71.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $72.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Service Co. International has a 12-month low of $52.89 and a 12-month high of $75.97.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.04. Service Co. International had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.95%.

About Service Co. International

Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States and Canada. Its funeral service and cemetery operations comprise funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other businesses. The company also provides professional services related to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral home facilities and motor vehicles; arranging and directing services; and removal, preparation, embalming, cremation, memorialization, and travel protection, as well as catering services.