First Horizon Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 6.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,149 shares of the company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Service Co. International in the 1st quarter worth about $224,137,000. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 53.5% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 7,239,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524,795 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 646.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 267,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,053,000 after purchasing an additional 231,980 shares during the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its stake in Service Co. International by 23.9% in the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 1,093,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,721,000 after purchasing an additional 210,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd bought a new stake in Service Co. International during the second quarter valued at approximately $14,226,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total transaction of $4,305,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $84,588,694.63. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 109,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,410,563.80. This trade represents a 33.93 % 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 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.25.

Service Co. International Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of SCI opened at $87.24 on Friday. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $60.60 and a fifty-two week high of $88.32. The firm has a market cap of $12.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

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.