Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Purchases 7,764 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 380.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,804 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,764 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Service Co. International were worth $783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total value of $4,228,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Service Co. International Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE SCI traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $76.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 903,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,264,442. The stock has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $67.19 and a 52 week high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. The firm's revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.50.

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.