Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 37.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,433 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,024 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $1,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 263.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,530 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 7,802.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 7,490 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 5.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,567,000 after purchasing an additional 156,086 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 23.9% in the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 1,093,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,721,000 after purchasing an additional 210,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Service Co. International by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 185,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,348,000 after acquiring an additional 3,375 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

SCI opened at $81.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.52 and a 200 day moving average of $79.86. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $67.19 and a fifty-two week high of $89.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

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.