Essential Planning LLC. Acquires New Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 15,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,249,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 300.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,055,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043,354 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 8,471.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 297,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,727,000 after purchasing an additional 293,785 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 2,527.9% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 293,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,152,000 after purchasing an additional 282,167 shares during the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 23.9% in the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 1,093,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,721,000 after purchasing an additional 210,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter worth $12,975,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on SCI. StockNews.com lowered shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,674.96. The trade was 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 business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,066,078.48. This 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 insiders.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of SCI opened at $78.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $67.19 and a 1-year high of $89.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.14.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change 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 1.63%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 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.