Jennison Associates LLC Lowers Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,405 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,467 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in Service Co. International were worth $2,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 100.0% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 121.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 708 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 258.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 789 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Service Co. International stock traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $87.24. The company had a trading volume of 721,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,027,566. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $79.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.77. The company has a market capitalization of $12.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $60.60 and a 1 year high of $88.32.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Service Co. International's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $84,588,694.63. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total transaction of $4,831,893.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 109,260 shares in the company, valued at $9,410,563.80. This represents a 33.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 108,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,203 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

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.