Bank of Montreal Can Acquires 2,770 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,570 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,770 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $2,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SCI. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in Service Co. International by 53.5% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 7,239,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $514,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524,795 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Service Co. International by 646.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 267,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,053,000 after acquiring an additional 231,980 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its stake in Service Co. International by 23.9% in the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 1,093,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,721,000 after acquiring an additional 210,802 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the second quarter worth about $14,226,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 7.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,942,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,183,000 after acquiring an additional 135,017 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Service Co. International Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:SCI opened at $87.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $64.10 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $81.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.86. 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 (NYSE:SCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James increased their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial raised 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 analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total value of $4,831,893.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total transaction of $4,305,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,588,694.63. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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.

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.