Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 8,525 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 23.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,548 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,525 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Service Co. International were worth $3,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Service Co. International by 12,200.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 369 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 406.5% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 542 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Service Co. International Price Performance

NYSE:SCI traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $78.27. 1,565,177 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 977,455. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $74.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.60. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $52.89 and a 1 year high of $80.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.07). Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.07% and a net margin of 12.32%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Service Co. International's payout ratio is currently 34.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SCI shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Service Co. International from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Service Co. International from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.60.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 80,638 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.97, for a total value of $5,964,792.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,109,359.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of Service Co. International 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 80,638 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.97, for a total value of $5,964,792.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $73,109,359.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,180 shares of company stock valued at $6,376,570 over the last quarter. 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.