Baillie Gifford & Co. Cuts Position in Service Corporation International $SCI

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford trimmed its stake in Service Corporation International by 5.4% in Q4, selling 527,858 shares and retaining 9,161,409 shares (about 6.54% ownership) valued at $714.3 million.
• Institutional ownership is high at 85.53%, with other major funds (Marshall Wace, Goldman Sachs) adding to positions; analysts have a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $98.
• SCI raised its quarterly dividend to $0.34 (annualized $1.36, ~1.7% yield), while corporate insiders—including a director and the CAO—recently sold shares, reducing their holdings.

Baillie Gifford & Co. cut its stake in Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,161,409 shares of the company's stock after selling 527,858 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 6.54% of Service Corporation International worth $714,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Service Corporation International by 31.8% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 549,162 shares of the company's stock worth $45,701,000 after acquiring an additional 132,591 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Service Corporation International by 48.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 417,387 shares of the company's stock worth $33,474,000 after acquiring an additional 136,770 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Service Corporation International by 3.0% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 394,961 shares of the company's stock worth $32,869,000 after acquiring an additional 11,484 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in Service Corporation International by 8.4% in the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 381,200 shares of the company's stock worth $31,723,000 after purchasing an additional 29,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Service Corporation International by 38.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 121,883 shares of the company's stock worth $9,775,000 after purchasing an additional 34,051 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Service Corporation International from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Service Corporation International in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Service Corporation International from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Service Corporation International from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Service Corporation International presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 7,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.87, for a total transaction of $614,999.00. Following the sale, the director owned 28,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,349.56. This represents a 21.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Tammy R. Moore sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.48, for a total transaction of $402,400.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 21,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,713.92. The trade was a 18.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Service Corporation International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCI opened at $81.58 on Monday. Service Corporation International has a 1 year low of $74.14 and a 1 year high of $86.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company's 50-day moving average is $81.25 and its 200 day moving average is $80.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.97.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.14. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.12 billion. Service Corporation International had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 34.21%. Service Corporation International's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Service Corporation International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Corporation International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Service Corporation International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Service Corporation International's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.79%.

Service Corporation International Company Profile

Service Corporation International NYSE: SCI is a leading provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services in North America. Through its network of funeral homes, cemeteries, memorial parks and crematoria, the company offers a broad array of end-of-life services, including traditional funeral ceremonies, memorialization, burial and cremation. In addition to core services, SCI provides grief counseling, pre-need planning and merchandise such as caskets, vaults, urns and memorialization products.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Service Corporation International operates more than 1,900 funeral homes, over 450 cemeteries and 40 combination facilities across the United States and Canada.

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