Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 2,822 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,226 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,822 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $2,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Service Co. International by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,901,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,846,159 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,239,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,624,000 after purchasing an additional 27,429 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 1.7% during 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 8.9% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,498,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of Service Co. International stock opened at $79.54 on Wednesday. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $67.19 and a 52-week high of $89.37. The stock has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.68 and a 200-day moving average of $80.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

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.