The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stock Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 114,318 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,412 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.08% of Service Co. International worth $9,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Service Co. International by 359.8% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 469 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

NYSE:SCI traded up $0.24 on Friday, reaching $75.74. 1,045,569 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,053,319. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.25.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.05. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Service Co. International's payout ratio is presently 35.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on SCI. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total transaction of $515,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total transaction of $4,228,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $83,066,078.48. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,900 shares of company stock worth $5,153,461 over the last three months. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.