MetLife Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,206 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,417 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Service Co. International worth $5,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 53.5% in 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. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 300.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,055,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,126,000 after buying an additional 3,043,354 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Service Co. International by 1.9% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,900,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,899,000 after buying an additional 55,000 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 135,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 61,838 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SCI. Truist Financial raised their target price on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James boosted 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.25.

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:SCI opened at $88.59 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.42. Service Co. International has a 12-month low of $60.65 and a 12-month high of $89.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75, a PEG ratio of 2.59 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 12.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Service Co. International’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 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 is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total value of $4,305,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,588,694.63. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $4,831,893.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 109,260 shares in the company, valued at $9,410,563.80. This represents a 33.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 108,655 shares of company stock worth $9,356,203 in the last three months. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

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.