Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 7,343 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,891 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,343 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $4,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Service Co. International in the third quarter valued at about $80,000. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Service Co. International during the third quarter worth about $217,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 1.4% during the third quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 13,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 11.0% in the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 37,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,976,000 after acquiring an additional 3,729 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total value of $201,875.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James lifted 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. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.25.

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE SCI opened at $86.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.83. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $57.49 and a 52 week high of $88.32. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.69 and a 200-day moving average of $74.93.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

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.