Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Stock Holdings in Service Corporation International $SCI

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its holdings in Service Corporation International (SCI) by 7.6%, owning approximately $218 million worth of shares after selling 223,417 shares in the first quarter.
• Service Corporation International will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share on September 30th, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.28 and a dividend yield of 1.6%.
• Analysts have set price targets for SCI, with Raymond James raising its target to $90.00 and Oppenheimer raising it to $91.00, reflecting strong confidence in the company's performance.

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its holdings in Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,718,213 shares of the company's stock after selling 223,417 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.91% of Service Corporation International worth $218,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SCI. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Service Corporation International by 1,040.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 267,352 shares of the company's stock worth $21,180,000 after purchasing an additional 243,902 shares in the last quarter. Perbak Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Service Corporation International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $328,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Service Corporation International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $281,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 38.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 121,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,775,000 after acquiring an additional 34,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Service Corporation International during the 1st quarter valued at $1,467,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Service Corporation International from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 target price (up from $85.00) on shares of Service Corporation International in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.25.

Service Corporation International Stock Performance

NYSE:SCI traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.05. The stock had a trading volume of 313,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,132,147. The stock has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.90. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $79.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.81. Service Corporation International has a twelve month low of $71.75 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.61.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.04. Service Corporation International had a return on equity of 32.84% and a net margin of 12.60%.The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Service Corporation International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-4.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Service Corporation International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Corporation International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Service Corporation International's payout ratio is currently 34.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Corporation International

In other Service Corporation International news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.49, for a total transaction of $12,073,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,067,983.17. This trade represents a 13.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Sumner J. Waring III sold 56,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.57, for a total transaction of $4,295,577.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 295,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,602,851.44. This represents a 15.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,082 shares of company stock worth $20,117,233 in the last quarter. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Service Corporation International

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.