Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Position in SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Free Report) by 42.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,318 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 4,532 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in SEI Investments were worth $1,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in SEI Investments by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 578 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SEI Investments by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of SEI Investments by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 5,969 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SEI Investments by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of SEI Investments by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 452 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. 70.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on SEIC shares. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of SEI Investments in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of SEI Investments in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on SEI Investments from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $82.00 price target (up previously from $77.00) on shares of SEI Investments in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded SEI Investments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.60.

SEI Investments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SEIC traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $83.92. 810,970 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 675,781. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $77.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.10. The stock has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.90. SEI Investments has a fifty-two week low of $62.38 and a fifty-two week high of $87.25.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $551.34 million during 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that SEI Investments will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SEI Investments declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 18th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the asset manager to repurchase up to 5.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SEI Investments 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 directly owns 23,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,992,843. The trade was a 45.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 1,372 shares of SEI Investments stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total value of $104,656.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 7,078,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $539,963,846.24. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 170,214 shares of company stock valued at $13,925,963. 14.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SEI Investments Company 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.