Invesco Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 260,267 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,521 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.18% of Service Co. International worth $20,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCI. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Service Co. International Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Service Co. International stock traded down $1.15 during trading on Thursday, hitting $79.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 194,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,029,826. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $67.19 and a 52 week 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.01. The company has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. Equities research analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.32 dividend. This is a boost 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 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.