Procyon Advisors LLC Buys 1,211 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,376 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Service Co. International by 33.4% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 3.6% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 23.1% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 2.2% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMS Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 3.0% during the second quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 7,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Service Co. International news, VP Steven A. Tidwell sold 45,995 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.43, for a total value of $3,469,402.85. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 54,354 shares in the company, valued at $4,099,922.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Steven A. Tidwell sold 45,995 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 54,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,099,922.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 75,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at $72,674,478.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 202,675 shares of company stock valued at $15,066,906. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SCI traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $74.40. 74,212 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 847,763. The stock has a market cap of $10.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.81. 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 has a 12-month low of $52.89 and a 12-month high of $75.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.71.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business 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 firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 32.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on SCI. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Service Co. International from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One investment 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, Service Co. International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.00.

Service Co. International 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.