645 Shares in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Purchased by Vision Financial Markets LLC

Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Service Co. International by 1.1% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $888,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 13,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI stock opened at $79.17 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $78.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.98. 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 has a one year low of $67.19 and a one year high of $89.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.06%.

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.