Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes $12.15 Million Position in Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired 151,450 shares of Service Corporation International (SCI), valued at approximately $12.15 million, during the first quarter.
• Institutional investors own 85.53% of SCI's stock, with other firms like American Century Companies and Sei Investments also increasing their stakes in recent quarters.
• Service Corporation International reported a quarterly EPS of $0.96, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a $0.32 quarterly dividend with an annual yield of 1.68%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 151,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,146,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.11% of Service Corporation International at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SCI. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation 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 buying an additional 2,846,159 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Service Corporation International during the 4th quarter worth about $96,498,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation 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 buying an additional 641,552 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,952,636 shares of the company's stock worth $714,600,000 after buying an additional 492,822 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 136.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 782,429 shares of the company's stock worth $62,751,000 after buying an additional 451,068 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Service Corporation International from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Service Corporation International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Service Corporation International Stock Performance

Service Corporation International stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 191,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,167,540. Service Corporation International has a 1-year low of $70.46 and a 1-year high of $89.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.50. The company has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.92.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Service Corporation International had a net margin of 12.58% and a return on equity of 32.35%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Service Corporation International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Corporation International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Service Corporation International's payout ratio is presently 35.16%.

Insider Activity at Service Corporation International

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 5,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.94, for a total value of $410,076.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,336,651.72. The trade was a 10.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Service Corporation 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.