State of Michigan Retirement System Has $2.69 Million Stock Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,262 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $2,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,920,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,473,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter valued at about $92,331,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Service Co. International by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 908,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,184,000 after acquiring an additional 9,381 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its position in Service Co. International by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 802,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,030,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in Service Co. International by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 673,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,129,000 after acquiring an additional 20,879 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SCI opened at $70.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $52.89 and a 1 year high of $75.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $71.03 and its 200-day moving average is $70.60.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 34.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Victor L. Lund sold 7,606 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $532,420.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,900 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.38, for a total transaction of $209,902.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 60,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,388,327.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victor L. Lund sold 7,606 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $532,420.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,517 shares of company stock valued at $813,092 in the last 90 days. 4.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SCI. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.00.

About Service Co. International

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.