T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Buys 492,822 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,952,636 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 492,822 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 6.19% of Service Co. International worth $714,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total value of $4,228,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $83,066,078.48. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI stock opened at $79.54 on Wednesday. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $67.19 and a 52 week high of $89.37. The company has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.01. 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 posted its earnings results 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, sell-side analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. This is an increase from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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