Verition Fund Management LLC Acquires 282,167 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 2,527.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 293,329 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 282,167 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Service Co. International worth $23,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. BDF Gestion bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the second quarter worth approximately $3,948,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 684,846 shares of the company's stock worth $48,713,000 after buying an additional 17,874 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Service Co. International in the 1st quarter worth $917,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 7.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,942,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,183,000 after acquiring an additional 135,017 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Service Co. International by 12.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 181,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,358,000 after acquiring an additional 19,418 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Service Co. International stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $88.59. 375,026 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 908,748. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $60.65 and a 12 month high of $89.37. The stock's fifty day moving average is $80.60 and its 200-day moving average is $76.42. The stock has a market cap of $12.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Service Co. International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Service Co. International's payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $84,588,694.63. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 109,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,410,563.80. This trade represents a 33.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 108,655 shares of company stock worth $9,356,203. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Service Co. International Company 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.