Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Acquired by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 12.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,019 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,473 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Service Corporation International were worth $2,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Service Corporation International by 70.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Service Corporation International in the fourth quarter valued at $96,498,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Service Corporation International by 237.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 911,294 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,739,000 after purchasing an additional 641,552 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Service Corporation International by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,952,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $714,600,000 after purchasing an additional 492,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Service Corporation International by 19,170.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 333,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,593,000 after purchasing an additional 334,904 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Service Corporation International from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Service Corporation International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Service Corporation International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.25.

Service Corporation International Price Performance

Shares of SCI traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $80.78. 625,042 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,061,824. Service Corporation International has a 1-year low of $70.46 and a 1-year high of $89.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.69 and a 200-day moving average of $78.55. The stock has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.92.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Service Corporation International had a net margin of 12.58% and a return on equity of 32.35%. Service Corporation International's quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Analysts expect that Service Corporation International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Corporation International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Service Corporation International's payout ratio is 35.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Service Corporation International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.94, for a total value of $410,076.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,336,651.72. This represents a 10.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Service Corporation 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.