Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $2.84 Million in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 41,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,841,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SCI. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 3.6% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,873 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its position in Service Co. International by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 960 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Service Co. International by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 2.0% in the third quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 11,821 shares of the company's stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 1.6% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 15,215 shares of the company's stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Service Co. International Trading Down 0.7 %

SCI traded down $0.48 on Tuesday, reaching $69.27. 629,941 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 832,024. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.87. The company has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.81. Service Co. International has a one year low of $52.89 and a one year high of $75.97.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The company's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. Service Co. International's payout ratio is presently 32.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In related news, Director W Blair Waltrip sold 6,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.38, for a total value of $457,437.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 597,948 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,475,372.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 16,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.20, for a total value of $1,197,076.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at $71,359,953. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director W Blair Waltrip sold 6,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.38, for a total transaction of $457,437.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 597,948 shares in the company, valued at $44,475,372.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 202,675 shares of company stock valued at $15,066,906. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Service Co. International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.00.

Service Co. International Company Profile

Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States and Canada. Its funeral service and cemetery operations comprise funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other businesses. The company also provides professional services related to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral home facilities and motor vehicles; arranging and directing services; and removal, preparation, embalming, cremation, memorialization, and travel protection, as well as catering services.