Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stock Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,364 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,209 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Service Co. International were worth $5,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 608,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,027,000 after purchasing an additional 18,972 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Service Co. International by 2.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 94,540 shares of the company's stock worth $7,462,000 after purchasing an additional 2,526 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 20.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,710 shares of the company's stock worth $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 4,691 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Service Co. International by 8.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 946,059 shares of the company's stock worth $74,672,000 after buying an additional 25,713 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on SCI. Truist Financial increased their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered Service Co. International from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.25.

Service Co. International Price Performance

SCI stock traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $87.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 721,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,027,566. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.77. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $60.60 and a 12 month high of $88.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Service Co. International's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Service Co. International's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total transaction of $4,305,500.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.64, for a total transaction of $218,810.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 53,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,566,667.36. This represents a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 108,655 shares of company stock worth $9,356,203. 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.