International Assets Investment Management LLC Buys 11,667 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 6,783.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,839 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,667 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Service Co. International were worth $810,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Service Co. International during the third quarter worth approximately $14,350,000. Coho Partners Ltd. grew its stake in Service Co. International by 14.4% during the third quarter. Coho Partners Ltd. now owns 1,899,165 shares of the company's stock worth $108,518,000 after buying an additional 238,439 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in Service Co. International by 47.7% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 608,961 shares of the company's stock worth $34,796,000 after buying an additional 196,739 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Service Co. International by 163.7% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 309,490 shares of the company's stock worth $17,792,000 after buying an additional 192,119 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Service Co. International by 15.1% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 944,657 shares of the company's stock worth $54,374,000 after buying an additional 123,837 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report 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 research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.00.

Service Co. International Stock Up 0.7 %

SCI traded up $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.51. The company had a trading volume of 551,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 826,391. The company has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $72.32 and a 200-day moving average of $66.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $52.89 and a 1-year high of $75.97.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.95%.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 8,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total value of $674,740.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 60,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,590,270.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Service Co. International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 8,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total transaction of $674,740.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 60,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,590,270.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director W Blair Waltrip sold 6,150 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.38, for a total transaction of $457,437.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 597,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,475,372.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 202,675 shares of company stock worth $15,066,906. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Service Co. International

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.