State of Michigan Retirement System Has $2.74 Million Stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $2,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 300.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,055,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,126,000 after buying an additional 3,043,354 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,567,000 after purchasing an additional 156,086 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,471,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,459,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,487,000 after purchasing an additional 118,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 23.9% during the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 1,093,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,721,000 after purchasing an additional 210,802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE SCI opened at $80.94 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.42 and its 200-day moving average is $80.02. The stock has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $67.19 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. Equities research analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total transaction of $515,385.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on SCI shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

About Service Co. International

Service Corp. International engages in the provision of funeral goods and services. It operates through the Funeral and Cemetery segments. The Funeral segment offers services related to cremations, including the use of home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, memorialization, and catering.