EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SCI. nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 121.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 258.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 represents a 33.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,555 shares of the firm’s 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. The trade was a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,203 in the last three months. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James boosted 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 note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

NYSE:SCI opened at $85.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.85. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $64.10 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.49. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Service Co. International 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.