Waddell & Associates LLC Acquires New Shares in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Waddell & Associates LLC bought a new position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 260,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,775,000 after purchasing an additional 10,521 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 29,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,362,000 after acquiring an additional 2,024 shares during the last quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd now owns 75,347 shares of the company's stock worth $6,014,000 after purchasing an additional 10,433 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Service Co. International by 70.2% in the fourth 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. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Service Co. International by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 491,326 shares of the company's stock worth $39,218,000 after buying an additional 150,580 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owns 982,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE SCI traded down $0.02 on Monday, reaching $78.12. The stock had a trading volume of 442,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,021,805. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.01. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $67.19 and a 1 year high of $89.37. The company has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.06%.

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.