Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Sold by Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lessened its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 533,078 shares of the company's stock after selling 75,400 shares during the quarter. Service Co. International comprises about 0.7% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. owned 0.37% of Service Co. International worth $42,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 263.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,530 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $340,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 156,086 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Service Co. International by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 920,222 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,452,000 after acquiring an additional 5,074 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Service Co. International Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Service Co. International stock traded up $0.90 on Friday, reaching $77.55. The company had a trading volume of 875,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,029,643. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $78.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.97. 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 has a 52-week low of $67.19 and a 52-week high of $89.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. Sell-side analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 yield of 1.65%. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is 36.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of Service Co. International 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 sale, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 982,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 4.40% 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.