SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $75.00 to $80.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential downside of 2.32% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of SEI Investments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of SEI Investments from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of SEI Investments from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $84.50.

SEI Investments Stock Performance

SEIC traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.90. The stock had a trading volume of 542,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 556,223. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.30. The company has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.98. SEI Investments has a twelve month low of $61.58 and a twelve month high of $87.25.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.12. SEI Investments had a return on equity of 24.29% and a net margin of 26.60%. The firm had revenue of $537.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $534.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SEI Investments will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

SEI Investments declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the asset manager to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SEI Investments news, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 19,010 shares of SEI Investments stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.49, for a total value of $1,568,134.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 7,377,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $608,570,469.94. The trade was a 0.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Hicke sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total transaction of $749,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 147,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,055,914.10. The trade was a 6.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 239,258 shares of company stock valued at $19,753,402. Company insiders own 14.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of SEI Investments

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of SEI Investments by 1,444.2% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 49,802 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,222,000 after purchasing an additional 46,577 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of SEI Investments by 3.1% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 189,869 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $12,283,000 after acquiring an additional 5,723 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SEI Investments by 9.5% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 160,275 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $10,368,000 after acquiring an additional 13,903 shares during the last quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of SEI Investments by 33.2% during the second quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 88,222 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,707,000 after purchasing an additional 21,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC raised its stake in SEI Investments by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 5,764 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. 70.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.