Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 263.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,912 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,530 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $1,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SCI. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Service Co. International by 1.1% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Service Co. International by 3.1% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 7.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Service Co. International by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCI opened at $80.76 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.85. Service Co. International has a one year low of $64.10 and a one year high of $89.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.71 and a 200 day moving average of $78.27.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 12.19%. Service Co. International’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was 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. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.64, for a total value of $218,810.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 53,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,566,667.36. This trade represents a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,203 over the last 90 days. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.