BDF Gestion Sells 8,564 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

BDF Gestion reduced its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,936 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,564 shares during the period. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $5,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 263.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,530 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $14,358,000 after acquiring an additional 19,418 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 7,802.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 7,490 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 5.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,567,000 after acquiring an additional 156,086 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the second quarter valued at $2,171,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,588,694.63. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 109,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,410,563.80. This 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 worth $9,356,203 over the last 90 days. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Service Co. International Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE SCI opened at $81.12 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.87. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $82.03 and its 200 day moving average is $79.38. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $64.10 and a 52 week high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Service Co. International Company Profile

Service Corp. International engages in the provision of funeral goods and services. It operates through the Funeral and Cemetery segments. The Funeral segment offers services related to cremations, including the use of home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, memorialization, and catering.