Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Short Interest Down 18.1% in January

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,330,000 shares, a decline of 18.1% from the December 31st total of 7,730,000 shares. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 914,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,555 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.64, for a total transaction of $218,810.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 53,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,566,667.36. This trade represents a 4.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total value of $4,305,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $84,588,694.63. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 108,655 shares of company stock worth $9,356,203 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 300.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,055,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,126,000 after buying an additional 3,043,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company's stock worth $253,567,000 after purchasing an additional 156,086 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $235,471,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 3.5% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,810,148 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,875,000 after purchasing an additional 61,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd lifted its position in Service Co. International by 23.9% in the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 1,093,723 shares of the company's stock worth $85,721,000 after purchasing an additional 210,802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.8 %

Service Co. International stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $77.51. 1,485,734 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,058,911. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.50. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $64.10 and a 1-year high of $89.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. The stock has a market cap of $11.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.87.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Service Co. International from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Service Co. International currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.50.

About Service Co. International

Service Corp. International engages in the provision of funeral goods and services. It operates through the Funeral and Cemetery segments. The Funeral segment offers services related to cremations, including the use of home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, memorialization, and catering.