Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Bought by JGP Wealth Management LLC

JGP Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 131,644 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,948 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Service Co. International worth $9,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in Service Co. International by 87.4% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 53,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 24,941 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Service Co. International by 17.2% in the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,413,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,272,000 after purchasing an additional 207,004 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the third quarter worth about $344,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Service Co. International by 45.4% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Service Co. International by 15.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 944,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,374,000 after purchasing an additional 123,837 shares in the last quarter. 84.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SCI. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on 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 lifted their target price on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 16,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.20, for a total transaction of $1,197,076.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,359,953. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 16,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.20, for a total value of $1,197,076.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,359,953. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.53, for a total value of $5,514,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,674,478.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 202,675 shares of company stock valued at $15,066,906 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $72.50. 707,529 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 870,328. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $70.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.67. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $52.89 and a 12 month high of $75.97.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is presently 32.95%.

Service Co. International Company Profile

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.