SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC) Shares Acquired by Banco Santander S.A.

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in SEI Investments Company by 158.5%, acquiring an additional 65,897 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing its total ownership to 107,467 shares valued at approximately $8.34 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including Geode Capital Management and FMR LLC, also raised their stakes in SEI Investments, contributing to institutional investors owning 70.59% of the company’s stock.
• SEI Investments recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.49, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders despite a significant recent insider sell-off.

Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in shares of SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC - Free Report) by 158.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,467 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 65,897 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A. owned 0.09% of SEI Investments worth $8,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SEIC. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in SEI Investments by 156.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 543 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in SEI Investments by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 803 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of SEI Investments by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 943 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of SEI Investments by 104.3% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in SEI Investments by 1,563.4% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SEIC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial increased their price target 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 SEI Investments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $98.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of SEI Investments in a report on Thursday, July 24th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of SEI Investments in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of SEI Investments from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SEI Investments presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.00.

Insider Activity at SEI Investments

In other news, insider Mark Andrew Warner sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.75, for a total value of $443,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,375. This represents a 79.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 66,126 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.28, for a total transaction of $5,573,099.28. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 6,937,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $584,699,410.96. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 237,126 shares of company stock valued at $20,082,409 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 14.60% of the company's stock.

SEI Investments Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ SEIC traded down $1.12 on Thursday, hitting $87.09. 74,211 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 863,822. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $88.20 and a 200-day moving average of $82.21. The stock has a market cap of $10.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.95. SEI Investments Company has a 52 week low of $63.97 and a 52 week high of $93.96.

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

SEI Investments Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a boost from SEI Investments's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. SEI Investments's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

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.