EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 3,179 Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Service Co. International in the second quarter worth about $1,127,000. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $335,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 31.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Service Co. International by 11.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Service Co. International by 121.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI stock opened at $85.85 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.31 and a 200 day moving average of $77.49. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $64.10 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 $12.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.85.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 109,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,410,563.80. This represents a 33.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 worth $9,356,203 over the last 90 days. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

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.