BNP Paribas Financial Markets Trims Stock Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 70.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,716 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,117 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Service Co. International were worth $1,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Service Co. International by 3.1% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Service Co. International by 14.0% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 7.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,167 shares of the company's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 5.6% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 3.5% in the second 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCI traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $85.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 765,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 905,044. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.27. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $64.10 and a 52 week high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 12.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total transaction of $4,305,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at $84,588,694.63. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total value of $4,831,893.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 109,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,410,563.80. This trade represents a 33.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 108,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,203. Insiders own 4.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SCI shares. Raymond James boosted their price target on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.25.

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.