Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,941,630 shares of the company’s stock after selling 141,076 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $234,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Service Co. International by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Up 0.6 %

SCI opened at $80.25 on Tuesday. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $67.19 and a 12 month high of $89.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $78.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.22. The company has a market cap of $11.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. On average, equities analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.