M&T Bank Corp Buys 123 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,248 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 31.3% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 121.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in Service Co. International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $203,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Service Co. International by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Service Co. International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $420,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Service Co. International stock opened at $85.54 on Tuesday. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $64.10 and a 1 year high of $89.37. The firm has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $82.52 and a 200 day moving average of $77.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last released 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 firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $9,410,563.80. The trade was a 33.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the firm’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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 108,655 shares of company stock worth $9,356,203 in the last quarter. 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.