Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCI. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the third quarter worth approximately $14,350,000. Coho Partners Ltd. boosted its position in Service Co. International by 14.4% during the third quarter. Coho Partners Ltd. now owns 1,899,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,518,000 after acquiring an additional 238,439 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in Service Co. International by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 608,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,796,000 after acquiring an additional 196,739 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 163.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 309,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,792,000 after acquiring an additional 192,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 944,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,374,000 after acquiring an additional 123,837 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.53, for a total transaction of $5,514,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at $72,674,478.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 16,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.20, for a total transaction of $1,197,076.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,359,953. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.53, for a total transaction of $5,514,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,674,478.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 202,675 shares of company stock worth $15,066,906. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE SCI opened at $71.40 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.09. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $52.89 and a 1 year high of $75.97.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 32.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Service Co. International from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Service Co. International Company Profile

Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States and Canada. Its funeral service and cemetery operations comprise funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other businesses. The company also provides professional services related to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral home facilities and motor vehicles; arranging and directing services; and removal, preparation, embalming, cremation, memorialization, and travel protection, as well as catering services.