California Public Employees Retirement System Reduces Stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,154 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.16% of Service Co. International worth $18,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SCI. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 11.2% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 27,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,161,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $251,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 35,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,768,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 8,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 94.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 123,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,000 after buying an additional 59,956 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

SCI opened at $77.06 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.22. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $67.19 and a 52-week high of $89.37. The company has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Service Co. International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total value of $4,228,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,066,078.48. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SCI shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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 raised Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International presently 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.