Aurora Investment Counsel Decreases Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Aurora Investment Counsel lowered its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 6.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 434 shares during the quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Service Co. International by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 14.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Service Co. International by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 80,638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.97, for a total value of $5,964,792.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,109,359.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 80,638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.97, for a total value of $5,964,792.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,109,359.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total transaction of $201,875.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.60.

Service Co. International Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of SCI opened at $78.90 on Tuesday. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $52.89 and a fifty-two week high of $81.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.84.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 32.07%. Service Co. International’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 34.48%.

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.