Signaturefd LLC Boosts Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,667 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 87.4% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 53,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,055,000 after buying an additional 24,941 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 673,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,129,000 after buying an additional 20,879 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,712,000. TIAA Trust National Association purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the 3rd quarter valued at $344,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SCI. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

NYSE:SCI opened at $71.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.71. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $52.89 and a twelve month high of $75.97. The company has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.81.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 32.95%.

Service Co. International Profile

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.