Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,505 shares of the company’s stock after selling 651 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCI. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Service Co. International by 110,300.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 20.1% in 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 last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of Service Co. International 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SCI. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of SCI opened at $79.26 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.20. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $67.19 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. Research analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

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

Service Co. International 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.