Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 11,038 Shares of Service Corporation International $SCI

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its holdings in Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 292,024 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,038 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Service Corporation International were worth $22,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Service Corporation International by 48.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 417,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,474,000 after purchasing an additional 136,770 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Service Corporation International by 31.8% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 549,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,701,000 after purchasing an additional 132,591 shares during the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Service Corporation International in the third quarter valued at about $6,996,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Service Corporation International by 38.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 121,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,775,000 after acquiring an additional 34,051 shares during the period. Finally, BDF Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Service Corporation International in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,339,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SCI shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Service Corporation International from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Service Corporation International from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Service Corporation International from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Service Corporation International from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Service Corporation International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.00.

Service Corporation International Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE SCI opened at $71.74 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.73. The company has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.84. Service Corporation International has a 52-week low of $68.41 and a 52-week high of $88.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $544.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Service Corporation International had a return on equity of 34.30% and a net margin of 12.36%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. Service Corporation International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.050-4.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Service Corporation International will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Corporation International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This is a boost from Service Corporation International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Service Corporation International’s payout ratio is currently 35.88%.

Service Corporation International Profile

Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) is a leading provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services in North America. Through its network of funeral homes, cemeteries, memorial parks and crematoria, the company offers a broad array of end-of-life services, including traditional funeral ceremonies, memorialization, burial and cremation. In addition to core services, SCI provides grief counseling, pre-need planning and merchandise such as caskets, vaults, urns and memorialization products.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Service Corporation International operates more than 1,900 funeral homes, over 450 cemeteries and 40 combination facilities across the United States and Canada.