NewEdge Advisors LLC Acquires 4,448 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 70.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,774 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,448 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Service Co. International were worth $860,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. FMR LLC lifted its position in Service Co. International by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,901,982 shares of the company's stock worth $550,916,000 after buying an additional 2,846,159 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,239,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,624,000 after acquiring an additional 27,429 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,020 shares of the company's stock worth $235,471,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Service Co. International by 8.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 118,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,498,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at $83,066,078.48. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI stock traded down $3.84 during trading on Thursday, reaching $76.06. 1,171,693 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,044,808. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $78.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.18. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $67.19 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. This is an increase from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International's payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

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.