Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 174 Shares of Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,301 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Service Corporation International were worth $425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. FMR LLC increased its position in Service Corporation International by 70.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,901,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,846,159 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Service Corporation International by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,952,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,600,000 after purchasing an additional 492,822 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 136.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 782,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,751,000 after purchasing an additional 451,068 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Service Corporation International by 19,170.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 333,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,593,000 after buying an additional 334,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Service Corporation International by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,650,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,734,000 after buying an additional 328,686 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Service Corporation International news, President Sumner J. Waring III sold 56,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.57, for a total value of $4,295,577.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 295,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,602,851.44. This represents a 15.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Service Corporation International Stock Performance

NYSE:SCI opened at $79.07 on Thursday. Service Corporation International has a twelve month low of $71.75 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.19. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.90.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.04. Service Corporation International had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Service Corporation International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Corporation International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Service Corporation International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SCI. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Service Corporation International in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Service Corporation International from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.50.

Service Corporation International Company Profile

Service Corp. International engages in the provision of funeral goods and services. It operates through the Funeral and Cemetery segments. The Funeral segment offers services related to cremations, including the use of home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, memorialization, and catering.