Lee Financial Co Purchases 11,378 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Lee Financial Co increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 66,929.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,395 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,378 shares during the quarter. Lee Financial Co's holdings in Service Co. International were worth $780,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 204.1% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 599 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 125.5% during the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 902 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Service Co. International by 45.4% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,224 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Victor L. Lund sold 7,606 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $532,420.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Victor L. Lund sold 7,606 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $532,420.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director W Blair Waltrip sold 6,150 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $44,475,372.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 211,292 shares of company stock worth $15,670,096. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Service Co. International from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.20.

Service Co. International Price Performance

SCI traded down $0.03 on Friday, reaching $70.75. The stock had a trading volume of 801,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 942,832. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.44 and a 200-day moving average of $68.35. The company has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.81. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $52.89 and a fifty-two week high of $75.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.04. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.23%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

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.