Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 9,550.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 203,628 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 201,518 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.14% of Service Co. International worth $16,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SCI. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Service Co. 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 purchasing an additional 492,822 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,846,159 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 0.9% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 worth $131,734,000 after buying an additional 328,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,459,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,487,000 after buying an additional 118,832 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 owns 982,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at $83,066,078.48. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 5,400 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 43,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,336,651.72. This trade represents a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Service Co. International Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of SCI traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $79.22. The company had a trading volume of 818,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,072,542. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $68.84 and a 1-year high of $89.37. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $77.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.53. The stock has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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 research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.25.

Service Co. 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.