Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 156,086 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $253,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Service Co. International by 121.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 258.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 36.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s 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 $84,588,694.63. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 109,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,410,563.80. This trade represents a 33.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,203 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Price Performance

SCI opened at $85.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.55. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $64.10 and a fifty-two week high of $89.37. The firm has a market cap 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 results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 12.19%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price objective 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 shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.