GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 201,518 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 9,550.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 203,628 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 201,518 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Service Co. International worth $16,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $435,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Service Co. International by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the company's stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Service Co. International by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 5,319 shares of the company's stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,406 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,986,000 after acquiring an additional 9,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SCI. Wall Street Zen raised Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group decreased 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Service Co. International Price Performance

SCI stock traded up $0.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $79.84. 1,013,709 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,074,499. The company has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $77.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.39. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $68.84 and a twelve month high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. Service Co. International's revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Service Co. International 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 transaction of $410,076.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,336,651.72. The trade was a 10.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.