Insider Selling: Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) CAO Sells $402,400.00 in Stock

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) CAO Tammy Moore sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.48, for a total transaction of $402,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 21,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,713.92. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Service Corporation International Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE SCI opened at $79.21 on Friday. Service Corporation International has a 12 month low of $71.75 and a 12 month high of $86.67. The company has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14. The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Service Corporation International had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 34.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Service Corporation International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Corporation International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Service Corporation International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Service Corporation International’s payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Corporation International

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SCI. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Service Corporation International by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,451,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,128,000 after acquiring an additional 16,541 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 549,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,701,000 after purchasing an additional 132,591 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 417,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,474,000 after purchasing an additional 136,770 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Service Corporation International by 3.0% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 394,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,869,000 after purchasing an additional 11,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 8.4% during the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 381,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,723,000 after purchasing an additional 29,478 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Service Corporation International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Service Corporation International in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Service Corporation International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Service Corporation International presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.50.

About Service Corporation International

Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) is a leading provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services in North America. Through its network of funeral homes, cemeteries, memorial parks and crematoria, the company offers a broad array of end-of-life services, including traditional funeral ceremonies, memorialization, burial and cremation. In addition to core services, SCI provides grief counseling, pre-need planning and merchandise such as caskets, vaults, urns and memorialization products.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Service Corporation International operates more than 1,900 funeral homes, over 450 cemeteries and 40 combination facilities across the United States and Canada.