GW&K Investment Management LLC Purchases New Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 334,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,890,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 204.1% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 599 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 125.5% in 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth $72,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted 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 purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

SCI stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.41. The company had a trading volume of 69,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 842,573. The company has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.59.

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

Service Co. International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on SCI. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.20.

Insider Activity

In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.53, for a total transaction of $5,514,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,674,478.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.53, for a total value of $5,514,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,674,478.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Sumner J. Waring III sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $3,753,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 289,400 shares in the company, valued at $21,725,258. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 211,292 shares of company stock valued at $15,670,096. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

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.