Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 5,724 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 109,260 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,724 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.08% of Service Co. International worth $8,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCI. nVerses Capital LLC increased its position in Service Co. International by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 258.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International in the 1st quarter valued at $65,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 109,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,410,563.80. This trade represents a 33.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of Service Co. International stock opened at $86.11 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average is $79.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.51. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $60.23 and a 52 week high of $88.32. The company 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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 previous year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given 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 is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on SCI shares. Raymond James increased their price target 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.