Argent Capital Management LLC Has $3.76 Million Stock Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Argent Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 41.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,113 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,916 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC's holdings in Service Co. International were worth $3,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International in the second quarter worth about $210,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,181 shares of the company's stock worth $2,360,000 after buying an additional 1,368 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 38.1% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,760 shares of the company's stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 7.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,942,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,183,000 after purchasing an additional 135,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 237.0% during the second quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 24,287 shares of the company's stock worth $1,728,000 after buying an additional 17,081 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on SCI. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.4 %

Service Co. International stock opened at $76.55 on Thursday. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $64.10 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The company's 50-day moving average price is $83.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. The stock has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.87.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,555 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.64, for a total value of $218,810.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 53,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,566,667.36. This trade represents a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total value of $4,831,893.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 109,260 shares in the company, valued at $9,410,563.80. The trade was a 33.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,655 shares of company stock worth $9,356,203 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SCI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.