Teacher Retirement System of Texas Lowers Stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,546 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,228 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Service Co. International were worth $2,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SCI. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Service Co. International by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 77,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,168,000 after buying an additional 8,915 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 15,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,204,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new stake in Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth $1,249,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in Service Co. International by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 26,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,126,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SCI shares. StockNews.com downgraded Service Co. International from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of Service Co. International stock traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.81. 1,039,907 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 984,416. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.91 and a 200-day moving average of $80.22. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $67.19 and a 1 year high of $89.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. As a group, analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. 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%.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Service Co. International Company 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.