Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SCI. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Service Co. International by 263.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 11,530 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 5.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,567,000 after buying an additional 156,086 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 185,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,348,000 after buying an additional 3,375 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Service Co. International by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 920,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,452,000 after buying an additional 5,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth about $3,229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SCI opened at $77.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.19 and a 200-day moving average of $80.22. Service Co. International has a one year low of $67.19 and a one year high of $89.37.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is 36.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total value of $4,228,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $83,066,078.48. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Service Co. International

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.