BDF Gestion Buys 19,000 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

BDF Gestion lifted its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 34.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 74,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares during the period. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $5,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SCI. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 310,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,229,000 after buying an additional 46,217 shares during the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Service Co. International during the 1st quarter valued at $208,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 116,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,654,000 after purchasing an additional 10,117 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently 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 increased their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In related news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total value of $201,875.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $73.97, for a total value of $5,964,792.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,109,359.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCI traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.85. 551,050 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 901,435. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $52.89 and a 12 month high of $81.32. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.65. The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Service Co. International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is 34.99%.

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.