Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Sold by LWM Advisory Services LLC

LWM Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,558 shares of the company’s stock after selling 226 shares during the period. LWM Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 204.1% in 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 during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. M&R Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 125.5% during the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Service Co. International from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Service Co. International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.00.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other news, Director W Blair Waltrip sold 6,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.38, for a total value of $457,437.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 597,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,475,372.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Steven A. Tidwell sold 45,995 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.43, for a total transaction of $3,469,402.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 54,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,099,922.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director W Blair Waltrip sold 6,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.38, for a total value of $457,437.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 597,948 shares in the company, valued at $44,475,372.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 202,675 shares of company stock valued at $15,066,906. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE SCI traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $72.93. 780,709 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 820,461. The company has a 50 day moving average of $72.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.81. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $52.89 and a 12 month high of $75.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 32.95%.

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.