M&T Bank Corp Increases Holdings in Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI)

M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 28.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,999 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,565 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Service Corporation International were worth $1,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Service Corporation International during the 4th quarter worth $435,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Service Corporation International by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,724 shares of the company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Corporation International during the 4th quarter worth $12,975,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Service Corporation International by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 35,357 shares of the company's stock worth $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Service Corporation International by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 26,630 shares of the company's stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 5,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was 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 $3,336,651.72. This trade represents a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SCI shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Service Corporation International from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.25.

Service Corporation International Stock Down 0.6%

Service Corporation International stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $79.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,028,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,210. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $79.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Service Corporation International has a 52-week low of $70.46 and a 52-week high of $89.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.92.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last released 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. Service Corporation International had a return on equity of 32.35% and a net margin of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Service Corporation International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Service Corporation International Dividend Announcement

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

About Service Corporation International

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.