SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) Shares Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) by 42.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,318 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 4,532 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in SEI Investments were worth $1,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SEI Investments by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 578 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in SEI Investments by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its position in SEI Investments by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 5,969 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in SEI Investments by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in SEI Investments by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 452 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.59% of the company’s stock.

SEI Investments Stock Performance

NASDAQ SEIC opened at $85.38 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.86. SEI Investments has a twelve month low of $62.38 and a twelve month high of $87.25. The stock has a market cap of $10.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.90.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $551.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.76 million. SEI Investments had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 27.35%. SEI Investments’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that SEI Investments will post 4.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SEI Investments announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 18th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the asset manager to reacquire up to 5.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael Peterson sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.27, for a total transaction of $4,213,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,137,645. The trade was a 78.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 1,372 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $104,656.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 7,078,708 shares in the company, valued at $539,963,846.24. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 170,214 shares of company stock worth $13,925,963 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 14.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SEIC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of SEI Investments from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of SEI Investments in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up from $77.00) on shares of SEI Investments in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of SEI Investments in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on SEI Investments from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.60.

SEI Investments Profile

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.