Fmr LLC Purchases 3,043,354 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Fmr LLC lifted its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 300.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,055,823 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,043,354 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $320,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCI. BDF Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the second quarter worth approximately $3,948,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 2.7% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 684,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,713,000 after purchasing an additional 17,874 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the first quarter valued at $917,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 7.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,942,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,183,000 after purchasing an additional 135,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Service Co. International by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 181,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,358,000 after buying an additional 19,418 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI stock opened at $88.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.83. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $60.65 and a 52-week high of $89.37. 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’s 50 day moving average is $80.60 and its 200 day moving average is $76.42.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. 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 yield of 1.40%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SCI. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James raised their price objective on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In related news, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total transaction of $4,831,893.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 109,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,410,563.80. The trade was a 33.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were 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 owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,588,694.63. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 108,655 shares of company stock worth $9,356,203. 5.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.