Signaturefd LLC Buys 423 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,667 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 204.1% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 125.5% during the fourth quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 45.4% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the third quarter valued at approximately $80,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of SCI opened at $71.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.81. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $52.89 and a twelve month high of $75.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $72.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.71.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 32.88%. Service Co. International’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Service Co. International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 8,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total value of $674,740.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 60,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,590,270.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Service Co. International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 8,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total value of $674,740.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 60,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,590,270.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director W Blair Waltrip sold 6,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.38, for a total transaction of $457,437.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 597,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,475,372.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 202,675 shares of company stock valued at $15,066,906. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.00.

About Service Co. International

Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States and Canada. Its funeral service and cemetery operations comprise funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other businesses. The company also provides professional services related to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral home facilities and motor vehicles; arranging and directing services; and removal, preparation, embalming, cremation, memorialization, and travel protection, as well as catering services.