Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 297,381 shares of the company’s stock after selling 426 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $23,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 11.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the third quarter valued at about $2,208,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the third quarter valued at approximately $251,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake 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 worth $2,768,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 8,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SCI. Oppenheimer increased their target price on 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 cut Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total transaction of $4,228,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Up 0.9 %

SCI stock opened at $80.89 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization 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 one year low of $67.19 and a one year high of $89.37.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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.