Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 29,807 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 141,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,807 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $9,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Service Co. International by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 2.0% in the third quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 11,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 0.6% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,472,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. increased its position in Service Co. International by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 2,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SCI shares. UBS Group upped 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 upped their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Service Co. International Stock Up 0.7 %

SCI stock opened at $68.09 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.44. The company has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.62. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $52.89 and a fifty-two week high of $75.97.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.04. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 12.73%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Service Co. International’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $72,674,478.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director W Blair Waltrip sold 6,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.38, for a total transaction of $457,437.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 597,948 shares in the company, valued at $44,475,372.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at $72,674,478.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 211,292 shares of company stock worth $15,670,096 over the last three months. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.