Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Position in SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Free Report) by 17.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 320,482 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 48,429 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.25% of SEI Investments worth $22,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in SEI Investments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $374,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in SEI Investments by 38.8% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 57,841 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,002,000 after purchasing an additional 16,162 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in SEI Investments by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 40,991 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 3,784 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in SEI Investments by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,520,430 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $174,092,000 after buying an additional 300,704 shares during the period. Finally, Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc grew its position in shares of SEI Investments by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc now owns 121,503 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $8,305,000 after buying an additional 39,401 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.59% of the company's stock.

SEI Investments Price Performance

Shares of SEI Investments stock traded up $1.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.75. 1,932,640 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 607,318. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.08. SEI Investments has a 1-year low of $61.58 and a 1-year high of $87.25.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.12. SEI Investments had a net margin of 26.60% and a return on equity of 24.29%. The firm had revenue of $537.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $534.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that SEI Investments will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

SEI Investments Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This is a boost from SEI Investments's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.46. SEI Investments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.67%.

SEI Investments announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 22nd that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the asset manager to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on SEI Investments from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of SEI Investments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of SEI Investments from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on SEI Investments from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SEI Investments currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $80.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 94,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.73, for a total value of $8,072,165.34. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 7,284,964 shares in the company, valued at $624,539,963.72. This represents a 1.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ryan Hicke sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total value of $749,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 147,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,055,914.10. This represents a 6.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 239,258 shares of company stock worth $19,753,402 over the last quarter. 14.30% of the stock is currently 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.