Ethic Inc. Decreases Stake in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Ethic Inc. lessened its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,242 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 846 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $2,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of TROW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,063,837 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,947,559,000 after purchasing an additional 135,203 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,187,176 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $812,798,000 after acquiring an additional 346,369 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 6,052,469 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $684,474,000 after acquiring an additional 425,142 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,631,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $635,260,000 after acquiring an additional 116,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Provident Trust Co. raised its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 2,611,294 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $295,311,000 after acquiring an additional 213,566 shares in the last quarter. 73.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TROW opened at $92.74 on Monday. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.85 and a 1-year high of $125.81. The stock has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.22.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. T. Rowe Price Group had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 20.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

T. Rowe Price Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.27 dividend. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.48%. T. Rowe Price Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.27, for a total transaction of $449,318.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 36,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,021,136. This represents a 10.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert F. Maclellan sold 3,955 shares of T. Rowe Price Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.56, for a total value of $362,119.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 42,979 shares in the company, valued at $3,935,157.24. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded T. Rowe Price Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $113.00 price objective (up previously from $111.00) on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $110.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $104.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.09.

About T. Rowe Price Group

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm provides its services to individuals, institutional investors, retirement plans, financial intermediaries, and institutions. It launches and manages equity and fixed income mutual funds. The firm invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe.