Bayesian Capital Management LP Invests $1.53 Million in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 19,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,525,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,952,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $714,600,000 after buying an additional 492,822 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Service Co. International by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,901,982 shares of the company's stock worth $550,916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,846,159 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,239,331 shares of the company's stock worth $258,624,000 after purchasing an additional 27,429 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $235,471,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,650,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,734,000 after purchasing an additional 328,686 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on SCI shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com raised Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.25.

Service Co. International Price Performance

NYSE:SCI traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.74. 1,045,569 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,052,308. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The company has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.96. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $68.51 and a 12 month high of $89.37. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $78.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.19.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.05. The business 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 company's revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 5,400 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.94, for a total transaction of $410,076.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,336,651.72. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,900 shares of company stock worth $5,153,461 over the last ninety days. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Service Co. International Company 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.