Empower Advisory Group LLC Purchases 25,713 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 946,059 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,713 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned approximately 0.66% of Service Co. International worth $74,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 53.5% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 7,239,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524,795 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the 1st quarter worth $224,137,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,942,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,183,000 after buying an additional 135,017 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,810,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,875,000 after buying an additional 61,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coho Partners Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Coho Partners Ltd. now owns 1,685,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,052,000 after acquiring an additional 161,570 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total value of $201,875.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of Service Co. International stock opened at $86.21 on Wednesday. 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 has a one year low of $57.49 and a one year high of $88.32. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.25.

About Service Co. International

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.