Insider Selling: Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) VP Sells 56,100 Shares of Stock

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total value of $4,831,893.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 109,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,410,563.80. This represents a 33.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Service Co. International Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of SCI stock traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $85.50. The company had a trading volume of 453,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 906,574. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.34 and a 200 day moving average of $75.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.83. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $60.03 and a 1-year high of $88.32.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Trading of Service Co. International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in Service Co. International by 53.5% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 7,239,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,966,000 after buying an additional 2,524,795 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 300.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,055,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,567,000 after purchasing an additional 156,086 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Service Co. International during the first quarter worth about $224,137,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Service Co. International by 7.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,942,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,183,000 after acquiring an additional 135,017 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.