Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 11.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 392,974 shares of the company's stock after selling 51,000 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.28% of Service Co. International worth $31,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP raised its position in Service Co. International by 359.8% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 469 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Service Co. International Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE SCI traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.22. 818,348 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,074,743. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $68.84 and a 52-week high of $89.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business's fifty day moving average price is $77.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.45.

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

Service Co. International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on SCI shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total transaction of $4,228,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 5,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.94, for a total value of $410,076.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,336,651.72. This 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 owned by corporate insiders.

About Service Co. 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.