Principal Securities Inc. Buys 236 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,936 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $155,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the third quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 110,300.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Service Co. International by 64.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Service Co. International by 29.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE SCI opened at $79.69 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Service Co. International has a one year low of $67.19 and a one year high of $89.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.87.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Company Profile

Service Corp. International engages in the provision of funeral goods and services. It operates through the Funeral and Cemetery segments. The Funeral segment offers services related to cremations, including the use of home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, memorialization, and catering.