Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Acquires New Holdings in SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE purchased a new position in shares of SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 26,201 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,034,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SEIC. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SEI Investments by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 578 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in SEI Investments by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.59% of the company's stock.

SEI Investments Trading Up 1.5%

SEIC stock traded up $1.23 during trading on Monday, reaching $84.22. The stock had a trading volume of 590,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 724,771. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.49. The company has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.91. SEI Investments has a 1-year low of $62.38 and a 1-year high of $87.25.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Get Free Report) 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. SEI Investments had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 27.35%. The business had revenue of $551.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that SEI Investments will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

SEI Investments Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 boost from SEI Investments's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. SEI Investments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.30%.

SEI Investments announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 18th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the asset manager to repurchase up to 5.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SEIC. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of SEI Investments in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded SEI Investments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of SEI Investments in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on SEI Investments from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $84.00 target price on shares of SEI Investments and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sanjay Sharma sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,895 shares in the company, valued at $1,992,843. This represents a 45.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 66,126 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.28, for a total transaction of $5,573,099.28. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 6,937,582 shares in the company, valued at $584,699,410.96. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 232,126 shares of company stock worth $19,638,659. 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.