SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) Reaches New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $93.82 and last traded at $93.80, with a volume of 961072 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of SEI Investments in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of SEI Investments in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SEI Investments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of SEI Investments from $79.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of SEI Investments from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, SEI Investments currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.00.

SEI Investments Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $85.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.18.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $551.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.76 million. SEI Investments had a net margin of 27.77% and a return on equity of 26.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Analysts forecast that SEI Investments Company will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

SEI Investments Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is an increase from SEI Investments's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. SEI Investments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.30%.

SEI Investments announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 18th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the asset manager to purchase up to 5.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at SEI Investments

In other SEI Investments news, EVP Michael Peterson sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.27, for a total value of $4,213,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,137,645. The trade was a 78.74% 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 hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Hicke sold 21,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.36, for a total transaction of $1,750,560.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 171,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,276,233.60. This represents a 10.92% 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 worth $19,638,659. Company insiders own 14.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SEI Investments

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SEI Investments by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 668,333 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $55,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,967 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SEI Investments by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 164,048 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,531,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of SEI Investments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $993,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SEI Investments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,548,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of SEI Investments by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 36,237 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,989,000 after buying an additional 8,032 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.59% of the company's stock.

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.