Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 4,825 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 73.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,402 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,825 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the 3rd quarter valued at $14,350,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 608,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,796,000 after buying an additional 196,739 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 163.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 309,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,792,000 after buying an additional 192,119 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 944,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,374,000 after buying an additional 123,837 shares during the period. Finally, Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 489,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,982,000 after buying an additional 95,704 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Victor L. Lund sold 1,011 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $70,770.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $532,420. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director W Blair Waltrip sold 6,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.38, for a total transaction of $457,437.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 597,948 shares in the company, valued at $44,475,372.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Victor L. Lund sold 1,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $70,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $532,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 211,292 shares of company stock worth $15,670,096 in the last ninety days. 4.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Service Co. International Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Service Co. International stock opened at $68.09 on Tuesday. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $52.89 and a 52-week high of $75.97. The stock has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $72.14 and a 200-day moving average of $67.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.04. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.23% and a net margin of 12.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

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.