Atria Investments Inc Decreases Stock Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Atria Investments Inc reduced its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 23.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,992 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,567 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 100.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 121.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 258.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the third quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the first quarter valued at $65,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SCI. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Raymond James lifted 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 109,260 shares in the company, valued at $9,410,563.80. This represents a 33.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Price Performance

NYSE:SCI opened at $86.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.83. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $60.23 and a 52-week high of $88.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.46 and a 200 day moving average of $75.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued 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 company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 declared 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 represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. 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.