2,602 Shares in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Purchased by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SCI. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in Service Co. International by 53.5% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 7,239,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $514,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524,795 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 231,980 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 23.9% during the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 1,093,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,721,000 after buying an additional 210,802 shares in the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the second quarter valued at about $14,226,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 7.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,942,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,183,000 after buying an additional 135,017 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

NYSE:SCI opened at $88.59 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $80.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.47. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $60.65 and a 1-year high of $89.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. 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 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In other news, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total value of $4,831,893.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 109,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,410,563.80. The trade was a 33.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,588,694.63. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,203 over the last 90 days. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Service Co. International

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.