Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Stake Cut by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 79,861 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,011 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $6,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 263.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,530 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Service Co. International by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,567,000 after buying an additional 156,086 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd lifted its position in Service Co. International by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 1,093,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,721,000 after buying an additional 210,802 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 185,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,348,000 after buying an additional 3,375 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at $3,229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI opened at $80.94 on Friday. 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 has a 12 month low of $67.19 and a 12 month high of $89.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.42 and its 200-day moving average is $80.05. The firm has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. Equities analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

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.