Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC Has $286,000 Stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,587 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. FMR LLC raised its stake in Service Co. International by 300.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,055,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,126,000 after acquiring an additional 3,043,354 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Service Co. International by 8,471.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 297,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,727,000 after acquiring an additional 293,785 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Service Co. International by 2,527.9% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 293,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,152,000 after acquiring an additional 282,167 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its stake in Service Co. International by 23.9% during the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 1,093,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,721,000 after acquiring an additional 210,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Service Co. International by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,567,000 after acquiring an additional 156,086 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on SCI shares. StockNews.com lowered Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCI opened at $79.96 on Tuesday. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $67.19 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.52 and a 200-day moving average of $79.93.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.06%.

Service Co. International Profile

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.