Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 150,580 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 44.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 491,326 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 150,580 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Service Co. International worth $39,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total transaction of $4,228,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Service Co. International Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of SCI stock opened at $74.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. Service Co. International has a 12-month low of $67.19 and a 12-month high of $89.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $79.08 and its 200 day moving average is $80.19.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.