Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 147,648 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 337,022 shares of the company's stock after selling 147,648 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Service Co. International worth $26,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in Service Co. International by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 121.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 708 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the third quarter worth $57,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Service Co. International by 258.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 789 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International in the 1st quarter valued at $65,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Service Co. International from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial increased 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 note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Service Co. International Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE SCI traded down $1.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $84.97. 343,514 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 904,124. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business's fifty day moving average is $78.69 and its 200 day moving average is $74.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.83. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

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.