Blueshift Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,421 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,859 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BDF Gestion purchased a new position in Service Co. International during the second quarter valued at $3,948,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 684,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,713,000 after buying an additional 17,874 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $917,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Service Co. International by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,942,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,183,000 after acquiring an additional 135,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Service Co. International by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 181,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,358,000 after acquiring an additional 19,418 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Up 0.4 %

SCI opened at $88.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.08. 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 has a 52 week low of $60.60 and a 52 week high of $89.31.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 12.19%. 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 company earned $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,555 shares of the business’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 directly owns 53,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,566,667.36. The trade was a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value 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 $84,588,694.63. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 108,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,203 over the last 90 days. 4.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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