Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) CEO Thomas L. Ryan Sells 50,000 Shares of Stock

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction 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 approximately $84,588,694.63. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Service Co. International Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:SCI traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $87.24. The company had a trading volume of 705,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 909,106. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $60.60 and a fifty-two week high of $88.32. The firm has a market cap of $12.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.59.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced 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. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. Service Co. International’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 300.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,055,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043,354 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Service Co. International in the first quarter valued at approximately $224,137,000. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 53.5% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 7,239,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $514,966,000 after buying an additional 2,524,795 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 2,527.9% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 293,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,152,000 after acquiring an additional 282,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 646.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 267,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,053,000 after acquiring an additional 231,980 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.