Summit Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,969 shares of the company’s stock after selling 905 shares during the quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $2,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. Seeds Investor LLC raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Service Co. International by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 8,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 3,016 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 159,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,711,000 after acquiring an additional 41,158 shares during the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth $479,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 260,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,775,000 after purchasing an additional 10,521 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of Service Co. International stock opened at $78.73 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $78.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.02. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $67.19 and a twelve month high of $89.37. 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 has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is 36.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

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.