UBS Group Upgrades SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) to Strong-Buy

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of SEI Investments in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of SEI Investments from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on SEI Investments from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research downgraded SEI Investments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on SEI Investments from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SEI Investments presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.17.

SEI Investments Stock Performance

NASDAQ SEIC opened at $84.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.20 and a current ratio of 3.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.95. SEI Investments has a fifty-two week low of $64.66 and a fifty-two week high of $93.96.

SEI Investments (NASDAQ:SEIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The asset manager reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $607.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $596.97 million. SEI Investments had a return on equity of 30.26% and a net margin of 31.14%.SEI Investments’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that SEI Investments will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

SEI Investments declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, October 24th that permits the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the asset manager to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at SEI Investments

In other news, Chairman Alfred P. West, Jr. sold 24,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.87, for a total transaction of $2,003,149.90. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 6,942,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,465,206.44. This trade represents a 0.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Hicke sold 80,000 shares of SEI Investments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.36, for a total value of $6,988,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 197,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,224,247.04. The trade was a 28.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 14.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of SEI Investments by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 31,307 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,656,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in SEI Investments by 44.0% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 432 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. raised its stake in SEI Investments by 3.0% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,503 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in SEI Investments by 0.5% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 29,852 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,533,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in SEI Investments by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.59% of the company’s stock.

About SEI Investments

SEI Investments Company is a global provider of asset management, investment processing, and investment operations solutions. The firm offers a range of services designed to help financial institutions, private banks, wealth managers and family offices streamline back-office functions and enhance front-office capabilities. SEI’s technology platforms support various stages of the investment lifecycle, including trade execution, performance reporting, risk analytics and client communications.

The company’s core offerings include outsourced fund administration, custody and trust services, managed account solutions, and wealth management technology.