Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Has $4.18 Million Stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 16.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,891 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,343 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Service Co. International were worth $4,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SCI. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 43.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,137 shares of the company's stock worth $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 5,161 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 12.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 103,477 shares of the company's stock worth $7,680,000 after purchasing an additional 11,709 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the first quarter worth $338,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 5.3% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 171,697 shares of the company's stock worth $11,809,000 after purchasing an additional 8,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 21.0% during the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 18,015 shares of the company's stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Service Co. International from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Raymond James boosted 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 report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.25.

Service Co. International Stock Down 1.4 %

SCI stock traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $84.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 351,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 904,124. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $59.09 and a twelve month high of $88.32. The company's fifty day moving average price is $78.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In related news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total value of $201,875.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

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.