Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Has $48.03 Million Stock Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 608,478 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,972 shares during the quarter. Service Co. International comprises 0.7% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. owned about 0.42% of Service Co. International worth $48,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SCI. nVerses Capital LLC increased its holdings in Service Co. International by 100.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Service Co. International by 121.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Service Co. International by 258.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Service Co. International in the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Service Co. International news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total value of $201,875.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:SCI traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $84.06. 1,038,515 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 908,579. The stock has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. Service Co. International has a 12-month low of $59.54 and a 12-month high of $88.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.15.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.25.

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.