Empower Advisory Group LLC Buys 25,713 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 946,059 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,713 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $74,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 121.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake 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 during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Service Co. International during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Service Co. International during the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SCI shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.25.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

NYSE:SCI opened at $86.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $78.69 and its 200 day moving average is $74.93. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $57.49 and a fifty-two week high of $88.32. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In related news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the business’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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.