Legal & General Group Plc Has $19.43 Million Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 243,387 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,216 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.17% of Service Co. International worth $19,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Service Co. International by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 260,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,775,000 after acquiring an additional 10,521 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 29,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 2,024 shares during the last quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd now owns 75,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,014,000 after purchasing an additional 10,433 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,901,982 shares of the company's stock worth $550,916,000 after buying an additional 2,846,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 491,326 shares of the company's stock worth $39,218,000 after buying an additional 150,580 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,712,674.96. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total value of $4,228,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCI traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.55. 875,110 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,029,643. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $78.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.97. The stock has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. Service Co. International has a one year low of $67.19 and a one year high of $89.37.

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, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. This is an increase from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

Service Co. International 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.