Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Sells 1,651 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lowered its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,971 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,651 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $2,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SCI. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Service Co. International by 12,200.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 369 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in Service Co. International by 406.5% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SCI opened at $79.50 on Friday. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $52.89 and a 52-week high of $81.32. The company has a market capitalization of $11.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.74 and a 200-day moving average of $73.33.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.07). Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.07% and a net margin of 12.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Service Co. International’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total transaction of $201,875.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 80,638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.97, for a total value of $5,964,792.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at $73,109,359.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total transaction of $201,875.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SCI shares. StockNews.com lowered Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Service Co. International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.60.

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.