Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Takes Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 2.0% in the third quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 11,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Service Co. International by 0.6% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,472,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 14.6% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 2,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 1.5% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 16,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.20, for a total transaction of $1,197,076.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,359,953. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 16,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.20, for a total transaction of $1,197,076.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,359,953. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 202,675 shares of company stock valued at $15,066,906. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.4 %

SCI opened at $71.40 on Thursday. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $52.89 and a fifty-two week high of $75.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.36 and its 200 day moving average is $67.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 13.11%. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. Research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is presently 32.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SCI. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Service Co. International from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.