Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Raises Stock Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 608,478 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,972 shares during the period. Service Co. International makes up approximately 0.7% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. owned 0.42% of Service Co. International worth $48,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 53.5% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 7,239,783 shares of the company's stock worth $514,966,000 after acquiring an additional 2,524,795 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the first quarter worth about $224,137,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 7.5% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Service Co. International by 3.5% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,810,148 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,875,000 after buying an additional 61,838 shares during the period. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Service Co. International by 2.8% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 946,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,672,000 after buying an additional 25,713 shares during the period. 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 $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $84.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,038,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 908,579. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.15. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $59.54 and a fifty-two week high of $88.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Service Co. International's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Service Co. International news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total transaction of $201,875.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SCI. Raymond James raised their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Service Co. International from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.