Aquatic Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 65.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,992 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,992 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Service Co. International were worth $2,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on SCI shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.25.

Service Co. International Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of SCI stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.39. The stock had a trading volume of 2,261,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,049,847. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.96. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $78.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.25. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $67.22 and a 52-week high of $89.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. Service Co. International's quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International's payout ratio is currently 35.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 46,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $83,066,078.48. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

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.