Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 331,361 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,661 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Service Co. International worth $26,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 263.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 11,530 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 181,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,358,000 after acquiring an additional 19,418 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 7,802.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 7,490 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,567,000 after acquiring an additional 156,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd lifted its stake in Service Co. International by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 1,093,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,721,000 after buying an additional 210,802 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Price Performance

SCI stock opened at $78.97 on Friday. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $67.19 and a 52-week high of $89.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.87.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. Equities research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SCI. StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James increased 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. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Service Co. 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.