6,007 Shares in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Bought by Waddell & Associates LLC

Waddell & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 263.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after buying an additional 11,530 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 5.1% in the 3rd 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. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 185,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,348,000 after purchasing an additional 3,375 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 0.6% in 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 position in shares of Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of SCI opened at $73.54 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.78 and a 200-day moving average of $80.10. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $67.19 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total transaction of $4,228,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,066,078.48. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Company 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.