Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $740,000 Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,277 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SCI. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Service Co. International by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 47,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,761,000 after acquiring an additional 13,916 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at $3,229,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at $307,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Service Co. International by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 263.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,530 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Up 0.3 %

Service Co. International stock opened at $76.92 on Tuesday. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $64.10 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $82.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.03. The company has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase 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 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SCI shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 109,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,410,563.80. This trade represents a 33.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total transaction of $4,305,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,588,694.63. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,203 in the last three months. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Company Profile

Service Corp. International engages in the provision of funeral goods and services. It operates through the Funeral and Cemetery segments. The Funeral segment offers services related to cremations, including the use of home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, memorialization, and catering.