Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 16,541 Shares of Service Corporation International $SCI

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its stake in Service Corporation International by 0.5% in Q4, adding 16,541 shares to bring its total holdings to 3,451,153 shares worth about $269.1 million.
• SCI shares were down 2.8% to $73.09, near their 52-week low, while the company reported mixed quarterly results with EPS of $0.97, below expectations, and revenue of $544.8 million, also missing estimates.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.36 per share from $0.34, and analysts still maintain a consensus Buy rating with a $95.00 price target despite some recent target cuts and one downgrade.

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,451,153 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,541 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.46% of Service Corporation International worth $269,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCI. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Corporation International during the 4th quarter valued at $435,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Service Corporation International by 38.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 121,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,775,000 after acquiring an additional 34,051 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Service Corporation International by 48.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 417,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,474,000 after acquiring an additional 136,770 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of Service Corporation International by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $848,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Service Corporation International by 32.6% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 2,398 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Service Corporation International Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of SCI stock opened at $73.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.88. Service Corporation International has a 52 week low of $73.04 and a 52 week high of $88.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $80.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.12.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $544.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. Service Corporation International had a return on equity of 34.30% and a net margin of 12.36%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. Service Corporation International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.050-4.350 EPS. Analysts predict that Service Corporation International will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Corporation International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from Service Corporation International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Service Corporation International's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Service Corporation International from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Service Corporation International from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Service Corporation International from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Service Corporation International from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Service Corporation International from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Service Corporation International has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 7,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 28,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,349.56. This represents a 21.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

About Service Corporation International

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SCI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.