Principal Securities Inc. Purchases 236 Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,936 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Service Co. International were worth $155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Service Co. International by 300.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,055,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,126,000 after buying an additional 3,043,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $253,567,000 after acquiring an additional 156,086 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,471,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $85,721,000 after purchasing an additional 210,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 2.8% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 946,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,672,000 after purchasing an additional 25,713 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of SCI opened at $79.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.76. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $67.19 and a 52-week high of $89.37.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is 36.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCI has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.