Thomas L. Ryan Sells 50,000 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Stock

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total transaction of $4,305,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,588,694.63. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCI opened at $87.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $79.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.59. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $60.60 and a 52 week high of $88.32. The stock has a market cap of $12.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Institutional Trading of Service Co. International

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCI. FMR LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 3,043,354 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Service Co. International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $224,137,000. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position in 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 worth $514,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524,795 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised 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 valued at $23,152,000 after buying an additional 282,167 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Service Co. International by 646.5% during 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 in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial raised their price target on 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 upped their price objective on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.