500 Shares in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Acquired by Mizuho Bank Ltd.

Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the 4th quarter valued at about $340,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the 4th quarter valued at about $250,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 115,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,232,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,239,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,624,000 after purchasing an additional 27,429 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Service Co. International Price Performance

NYSE SCI opened at $77.06 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. Service Co. International has a 12-month low of $67.19 and a 12-month high of $89.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.22.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last released 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 net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. As a group, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

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. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total transaction of $4,228,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $83,066,078.48. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International 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.