Teacher Retirement System of Texas Decreases Stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,546 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,228 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Service Co. International were worth $2,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in Service Co. International by 300.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,055,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043,354 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,567,000 after purchasing an additional 156,086 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,471,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in 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 worth $116,487,000 after buying an additional 118,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Service Co. International by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 959,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,613,000 after acquiring an additional 13,764 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total transaction of $515,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total transaction of $4,228,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SCI shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

NYSE SCI opened at $79.94 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $67.19 and a 1 year high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

Service Co. International Company Profile

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.