Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,198 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,185 shares during the quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Service Co. International were worth $4,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,901,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $550,916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,846,159 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,239,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,624,000 after acquiring an additional 27,429 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $235,471,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Service Co. International by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,459,377 shares of the company's stock worth $116,487,000 after acquiring an additional 118,832 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter worth about $96,498,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value 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. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SCI shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Price Performance

NYSE:SCI traded up $2.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,950,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,023,383. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.00. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $67.19 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. On average, analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International's 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.