Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Stake Cut by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,752 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $9,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCI opened at $87.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.94 and a 200-day moving average of $76.71. Service Co. International has a one year low of $61.38 and a one year high of $89.37.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $84,588,694.63. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 53,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,566,667.36. This represents a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 108,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,203. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.25.

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.