Baillie Gifford & Co. Decreases Stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Baillie Gifford & Co. lowered its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,529,330 shares of the company’s stock after selling 469,996 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.09% of Service Co. International worth $988,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 53.5% in the second 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 during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $224,137,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 worth $138,183,000 after acquiring an additional 135,017 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Service Co. International by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,810,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,875,000 after purchasing an additional 61,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coho Partners Ltd. raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 10.6% during the first quarter. Coho Partners Ltd. now owns 1,685,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,052,000 after purchasing an additional 161,570 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In related news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total value of $201,875.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SCI. Raymond James upped their target price on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.25.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

NYSE SCI opened at $86.53 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. The stock has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.83. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $57.49 and a fifty-two week high of $88.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.52 and a 200-day moving average of $74.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.31 dividend. This is a boost 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 yield of 1.43%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

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.