Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,279 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,915 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.05% of Service Co. International worth $6,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 110,300.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SCI. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Service Co. International from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.50.

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Service Co. International Stock Up 0.3 %

SCI stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $80.19. 854,988 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 955,974. The company has a market capitalization of $11.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.20. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $67.19 and a 12 month high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International's payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

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.