Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $22.25 Million Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 64.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 278,720 shares of the company's stock after selling 499,243 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Service Co. International worth $22,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Service Co. International by 359.8% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 469 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SCI. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.25.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 directly owns 982,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 5,400 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.94, for a total transaction of $410,076.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,938 shares in the company, valued at $3,336,651.72. This trade represents a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,153,461 over the last three months. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Service Co. International Price Performance

NYSE:SCI traded up $1.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,249,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,063,395. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $68.51 and a 12 month high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.16%.

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.