Marshall Wace LLP Grows Stock Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI – Get Rating) by 280.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,521 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 60,121 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.05% of Service Co. International worth $4,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Service Co. International in the third quarter worth $29,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Service Co. International by 23.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Eaton Vance Management raised its stake in Service Co. International by 0.7% in the third quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 78,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,509,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International in the third quarter worth about $138,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 163.0% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 68,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,966,000 after acquiring an additional 42,577 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In related news, COO Sumner J. Waring III sold 29,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $2,005,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 338,866 shares in the company, valued at $23,269,928.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Steven A. Tidwell sold 6,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.28, for a total transaction of $471,227.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 52,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,663,345. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Sumner J. Waring III sold 29,200 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.67, for a total transaction of $2,005,164.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 338,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,269,928.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,741 shares of company stock worth $2,677,606 over the last 90 days. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI stock opened at $63.74 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.97 and a 200 day moving average of $66.80. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $56.85 and a 1 year high of $75.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.54, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.78.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.12. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $974.69 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Dividend Announcement

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 $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Service Co. International Company Profile

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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.