Pinebridge Investments L.P. Buys 13,818 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 42.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,190 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,818 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $3,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Service Co. International by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 11,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 3,098 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Service Co. International by 380.6% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 7,764 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Service Co. International by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 81,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,251 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,732,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,299,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of Service Co. International stock opened at $78.48 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.04. Service Co. International has a one year low of $67.19 and a one year high of $89.37. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a PEG 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%. On average, 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is presently 36.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,712,674.96. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.