Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $250,000 in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 263.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 11,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,567,000 after purchasing an additional 156,086 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Service Co. International by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 185,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,348,000 after purchasing an additional 3,375 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Service Co. International by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 920,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,452,000 after buying an additional 5,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth about $3,229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Service Co. International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total value of $4,228,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCI has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCI opened at $77.06 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $79.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.22. The company has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $67.19 and a twelve month high of $89.37.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.