Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Position Reduced by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. trimmed its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 0.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 82,872 shares of the company’s stock after selling 670 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $6,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. nVerses Capital LLC grew its stake in Service Co. International by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 121.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Service Co. International by 258.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Service Co. International in the 1st quarter valued at about $65,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Service Co. International Trading Up 0.8 %

Service Co. International stock opened at $86.11 on Friday. Service Co. International has a 12-month low of $60.23 and a 12-month high of $88.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 12.19%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total transaction of $4,831,893.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 109,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,410,563.80. The trade was a 33.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James raised their target price on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to 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.