Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 231.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 385,472 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 269,043 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.27% of Service Co. International worth $30,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SCI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,498,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings 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 worth $72,739,000 after buying an additional 641,552 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position 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 valued at $23,727,000 after buying an additional 293,785 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the fourth quarter worth about $12,975,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $253,567,000 after acquiring an additional 156,086 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned 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 a consensus target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of SCI traded up $2.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,950,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,024,018. 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 $11.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The business's fifty day moving average is $78.61 and its 200 day moving average is $80.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS 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 given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. This is an increase from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International's payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm'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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

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.