Blueshift Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,421 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 26.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,859 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,421 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in Service Co. International by 100.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Service Co. International by 121.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in Service Co. International by 258.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Service Co. International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Service Co. International by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCI opened at $88.61 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.06 and a 200 day moving average of $76.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. The company has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.83. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $60.60 and a 52 week high of $89.31.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 12.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.64, for a total transaction of $218,810.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 53,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,566,667.36. This represents a 4.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total value of $4,305,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,588,694.63. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 108,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,203 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.25.

Service Co. International Company 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.