Axa S.A. Sells 253,768 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

AXA S.A. lessened its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 44.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 311,556 shares of the company's stock after selling 253,768 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A. owned approximately 0.22% of Service Co. International worth $24,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SCI. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 94.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 123,375 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,738,000 after buying an additional 59,956 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Service Co. International by 263.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 11,530 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Service Co. International by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at about $307,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter worth about $3,229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Service Co. International Price Performance

NYSE:SCI traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,045,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,053,319. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, 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 one year low of $68.51 and a one year high of $89.37.

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

Service Co. International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.16%.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCI has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lowered 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, May 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.25.

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.