Vest Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 33,232 SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC)

Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 33,232 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,580,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SEIC. King Luther Capital Management Corp bought a new position in SEI Investments in the 4th quarter valued at $2,645,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SEI Investments in the fourth quarter worth about $863,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of SEI Investments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $480,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in SEI Investments by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,171,743 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $96,645,000 after buying an additional 46,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of SEI Investments during the fourth quarter valued at about $993,000. 70.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SEI Investments Stock Down 1.2%

SEIC stock traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $83.18. The company had a trading volume of 652,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 722,711. SEI Investments has a 12-month low of $62.38 and a 12-month high of $87.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.48. The company has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.91.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $551.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $556.76 million. SEI Investments had a net margin of 27.35% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The business's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that SEI Investments will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

SEI Investments Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change from SEI Investments's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. SEI Investments's dividend payout ratio is 21.30%.

SEI Investments declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 18th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the asset manager to reacquire up to 5.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on SEIC shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of SEI Investments in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on SEI Investments from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of SEI Investments in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SEI Investments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on SEI Investments from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SEI Investments presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sanjay Sharma sold 20,000 shares of SEI Investments stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.40, for a total value of $1,668,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,895 shares in the company, valued at $1,992,843. The trade was a 45.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.78, for a total value of $6,433,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 7,003,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $600,778,072.24. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 232,126 shares of company stock valued at $19,638,659. Insiders own 14.30% of the company's stock.

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.