Bridgefront Capital LLC Sells 5,808 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Bridgefront Capital LLC trimmed its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 55.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,626 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,808 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC's holdings in Service Co. International were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,901,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $550,916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,846,159 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,498,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 237.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 911,294 shares of the company's stock worth $72,739,000 after purchasing an additional 641,552 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 5.8% in the 4th 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. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,650,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,734,000 after buying an additional 328,686 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on SCI. UBS Group dropped 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 analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 $83,066,078.48. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,153,461. 4.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCI traded up $0.24 on Friday, hitting $75.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,045,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,053,319. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market cap 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. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $68.51 and a 1-year high of $89.37.

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

Service Co. International Dividend Announcement

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

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.