Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 518,448 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Nordea Investment Management AB lowered its position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 36.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 923,634 shares of the company’s stock after selling 518,448 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.64% of Service Co. International worth $74,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in Service Co. International by 75.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 258.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Service Co. International during the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Service Co. International by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Service Co. International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $80,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Service Co. International Price Performance

SCI opened at $78.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.87. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $64.10 and a 12 month high of $89.37. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $84.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.66.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 12.19%. The company 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 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 that occurred 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 $84,588,694.63. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.64, for a total transaction of $218,810.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 53,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,566,667.36. This represents a 4.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 108,655 shares of company stock worth $9,356,203. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

About Service Co. International

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.