Service Corporation International $SCI Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

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. decreased its position in Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Free Report) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,718,213 shares of the company's stock after selling 223,417 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 1.91% of Service Corporation International worth $218,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Service Corporation International during the 4th quarter valued at about $435,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 3,729 shares of the company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,647 shares of the company's stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,931 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 10,564 shares of the company's stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 994 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Service Corporation International

In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 7,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.60, for a total value of $632,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 36,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,908,692.80. This trade represents a 17.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,514 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.41, for a total value of $199,636.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 252,082 shares of company stock worth $20,117,233. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Service Corporation International Price Performance

SCI stock traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $78.88. 1,119,369 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,137,057. The company has a market cap of $11.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's 50 day moving average is $79.55 and its 200 day moving average is $78.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Service Corporation International has a 12-month low of $71.75 and a 12-month high of $89.37.

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

Service Corporation International Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Service Corporation International from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 target price (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Service Corporation International in a report on Monday, August 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $90.25.

Service Corporation International 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.