Ascent Group LLC Grows Position in SEI Investments Company $SEIC

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in SEI Investments by 135.4%, owning 49,106 shares valued at approximately $3.81 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• SEI Investments reported earnings of $1.78 EPS for the last quarter, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate, and recorded a 7.8% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Stock analysts maintain a mixed outlook on SEI Investments, with an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.00.

Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC - Free Report) by 135.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,106 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 28,241 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in SEI Investments were worth $3,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SEIC. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in SEI Investments during the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SEI Investments by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 475,792 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,246,000 after purchasing an additional 93,568 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of SEI Investments by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,218 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of SEI Investments in the fourth quarter valued at about $281,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SEI Investments by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 15,318 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 4,532 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.59% of the company's stock.

SEI Investments Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ SEIC traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $86.50. The company had a trading volume of 399,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 574,638. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $89.28 and a 200 day moving average of $83.12. SEI Investments Company has a 1-year low of $64.66 and a 1-year high of $93.96.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $559.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.72 million. SEI Investments had a net margin of 31.25% and a return on equity of 29.96%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SEI Investments Company will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of SEI Investments in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Zacks Research lowered shares of SEI Investments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 1st. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of SEI Investments from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of SEI Investments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $98.00 target price (down previously from $100.00) on shares of SEI Investments in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.00.

Insider Transactions at SEI Investments

In other SEI Investments news, insider Mark Andrew Warner sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.75, for a total transaction of $443,750.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $115,375. This represents a 79.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Hicke sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.30, for a total transaction of $3,090,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 171,260 shares in the company, valued at $15,122,258. This trade represents a 16.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 14.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.