SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 318,265 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the previous session’s volume of 513,192 shares.The stock last traded at $84.26 and had previously closed at $84.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on SEI Investments from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of SEI Investments from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of SEI Investments from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of SEI Investments from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.75.

SEI Investments Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.04.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $537.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $534.08 million. SEI Investments had a return on equity of 24.29% and a net margin of 26.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that SEI Investments will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SEI Investments Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This is a positive change from SEI Investments’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.46. This represents a dividend yield of 1.1%. SEI Investments’s payout ratio is currently 23.67%.

SEI Investments announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the asset manager to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 94,158 shares of SEI Investments stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.73, for a total transaction of $8,072,165.34. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 7,284,964 shares in the company, valued at $624,539,963.72. The trade was a 1.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Philip Mccabe sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total transaction of $797,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,305,425.04. The trade was a 19.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 204,258 shares of company stock valued at $17,139,652 in the last ninety days. 14.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SEI Investments

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of SEI Investments by 101.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 461 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in SEI Investments by 925.9% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 554 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of SEI Investments in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of SEI Investments by 16.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,197 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in SEI Investments during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $136,000. 70.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SEI Investments

SEI Investments Company is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides wealth management, retirement and investment solutions, asset management, asset administration, investment processing outsourcing solutions, financial services, and investment advisory services to its clients.