Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 59.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,479 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,433 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,587 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,167 shares of the company's stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,438 shares of the company's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 40,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,201,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.50.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other news, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $83,066,078.48. This trade 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.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

NYSE SCI traded up $1.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.19. 389,418 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,027,948. The business's 50 day moving average is $78.72 and its 200-day moving average is $80.01. The company has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $67.19 and a 1 year high of $89.37. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. This is a boost from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International's payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

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.