Aurora Investment Counsel Sells 1,346 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Aurora Investment Counsel trimmed its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 20.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,346 shares during the quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 8,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 1,093,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,721,000 after acquiring an additional 210,802 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 5,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 110,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 68,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,396,000 after acquiring an additional 13,209 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Service Co. International Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Service Co. International stock opened at $85.40 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.44. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $60.03 and a 1 year high of $88.32. The company has a market capitalization of $12.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

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, meeting 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCI has been the subject of several research reports. 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 note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total transaction of $4,831,893.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 109,260 shares in the company, valued at $9,410,563.80. This trade represents a 33.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Company Profile

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.