Empower Advisory Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 946,059 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,713 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned 0.66% of Service Co. International worth $74,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Service Co. International by 43.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 5,161 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 12.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 103,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,680,000 after buying an additional 11,709 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the first quarter valued at approximately $338,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 5.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 171,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,809,000 after buying an additional 8,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 21.0% in the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 18,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,337,000 after buying an additional 3,126 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total transaction of $201,875.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Service Co. International from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.25.

Service Co. International Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE SCI traded down $1.67 on Wednesday, reaching $84.50. 566,087 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 904,856. The business'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 $12.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $59.09 and a fifty-two week high of $88.32.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 12.19%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

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.