Norges Bank Takes Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,208,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $96,498,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.84% of Service Co. International at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 263.1% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Service Co. International by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,567,000 after purchasing an additional 156,086 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Service Co. International by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 185,277 shares of the company's stock worth $14,348,000 after purchasing an additional 3,375 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 0.6% during the fourth 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. acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,229,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCI has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. 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 research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of SCI traded down $4.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,006,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 999,819. The stock has a market capitalization 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.22. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $67.19 and a fifty-two week high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. On average, research analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is 36.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Service Co. International news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Service Co. International Company Profile

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.