California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 19,154 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 237,290 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,154 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.16% of Service Co. International worth $18,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at $96,498,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 237.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 911,294 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,739,000 after purchasing an additional 641,552 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the fourth quarter worth about $12,975,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $253,567,000 after buying an additional 156,086 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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Service Co. International Trading Up 2.1 %

SCI stock traded up $1.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.09. 1,657,382 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,015,607. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $67.19 and a 52-week high of $89.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $78.65 and a 200-day moving average of $80.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. This is an increase 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 presently 36.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCI has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.