Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases New Shares in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in 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 purchased 507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total transaction of $515,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total value of $4,228,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI opened at $78.04 on Friday. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $67.19 and a 12 month high of $89.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. Research analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is presently 36.06%.

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.