Maj Invest Holding A S Trims Stock Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Maj Invest Holding A S decreased its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 705,054 shares of the company’s stock after selling 99,593 shares during the quarter. Service Co. International accounts for about 1.9% of Maj Invest Holding A S’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Maj Invest Holding A S’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $56,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,368 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Service Co. International by 14.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 118,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,400,000 after buying an additional 14,610 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Service Co. International by 37.3% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 55,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,924,000 after buying an additional 14,982 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 6.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 24,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,810,000 after buying an additional 1,469 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $897,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SCI. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James lifted 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 note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,588,694.63. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $218,810.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 53,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 108,655 shares of company stock worth $9,356,203. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Price Performance

NYSE:SCI opened at $77.77 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $82.33 and its 200 day moving average is $79.25. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $64.10 and a 12 month high of $89.37. The company has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Service Co. International 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.