Groupama Asset Managment Increases Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,659 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 571 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $9,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

SCI opened at $80.89 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.23. 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 $11.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $67.19 and a 1-year high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 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 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 is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $4,228,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Service Co. International Company 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.