Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Sold by Select Equity Group L.P.

Select Equity Group L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,301,898 shares of the company's stock after selling 821,614 shares during the period. Service Co. International makes up 2.6% of Select Equity Group L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Select Equity Group L.P. owned about 5.74% of Service Co. International worth $662,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCI. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Service Co. International by 359.8% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 469 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SCI. StockNews.com raised Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Service Co. International from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.25.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total transaction of $515,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,712,674.96. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total value of $4,228,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,153,461. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Service Co. International Trading Down 0.7%

SCI traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $77.63. 842,693 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,063,357. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.96. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $68.51 and a 52-week high of $89.37.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.16%.

About Service Co. International

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.