California Public Employees Retirement System Has $17.94 Million Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 262,096 shares of the company’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $17,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SCI. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,350,000. Coho Partners Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 14.4% in the third quarter. Coho Partners Ltd. now owns 1,899,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,518,000 after acquiring an additional 238,439 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in Service Co. International by 47.7% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 608,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,796,000 after purchasing an additional 196,739 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Service Co. International by 163.7% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 309,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,792,000 after purchasing an additional 192,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Service Co. International by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 944,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,374,000 after purchasing an additional 123,837 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.53, for a total value of $5,514,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at $72,674,478.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Service Co. International news, Director W Blair Waltrip sold 6,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.38, for a total value of $457,437.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 597,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,475,372.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 75,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.53, for a total value of $5,514,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,674,478.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 202,675 shares of company stock valued at $15,066,906. 4.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Service Co. International Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of SCI stock opened at $72.93 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.93. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $52.89 and a twelve month high of $75.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 32.95%.

Service Co. International Company 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.