Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 4,825 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 73.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,402 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,825 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SCI. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the third quarter worth $36,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 204.1% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 599 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 125.5% during the fourth quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 45.4% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter worth $72,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Service Co. International news, Director Victor L. Lund sold 7,606 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $532,420.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Service Co. International news, Director Victor L. Lund sold 7,606 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $532,420.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victor L. Lund sold 1,011 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $70,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,606 shares in the company, valued at $532,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 211,292 shares of company stock valued at $15,670,096 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer increased 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 report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Service Co. International Trading Up 0.7 %

SCI stock opened at $68.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.81. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $52.89 and a 12 month high of $75.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $72.14 and its 200 day moving average is $67.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 32.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

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.