First Trust Advisors LP Sells 43,217 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI – Get Rating) by 23.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,856 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,217 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.09% of Service Co. International worth $8,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Service Co. International by 23.6% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 776,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,849,000 after buying an additional 148,063 shares during the period. Eaton Vance Management grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 78,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,509,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the period. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the 3rd quarter valued at $138,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 163.0% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 68,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,966,000 after purchasing an additional 42,577 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Credit Suisse Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Service Co. International in a report on Thursday, February 16th.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 2,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.95, for a total transaction of $201,214.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 962,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,282,918.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Steven A. Tidwell sold 6,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.28, for a total transaction of $471,227.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 52,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,663,345. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 2,836 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.95, for a total value of $201,214.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 962,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,282,918.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,741 shares of company stock worth $2,677,606. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Service Co. International Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SCI opened at $63.74 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.78. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $56.85 and a 52 week high of $75.11.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $974.69 million. Service Co. International had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. Analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

About Service Co. International

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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.