Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Sells 5,000 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 300.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,055,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,126,000 after buying an additional 3,043,354 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 53.5% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 7,239,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $514,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524,795 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Service Co. International by 2,527.9% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 293,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,152,000 after purchasing an additional 282,167 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Service Co. International by 646.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 267,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,053,000 after buying an additional 231,980 shares during the period. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its position 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 buying an additional 210,802 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.64, for a total transaction of $218,810.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 53,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,566,667.36. This represents a 4.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total transaction of $4,305,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,588,694.63. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 108,655 shares of company stock worth $9,356,203. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Service Co. International Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Service Co. International stock opened at $77.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.03. Service Co. International has a 12-month low of $64.10 and a 12-month high of $89.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.