T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) Shares Down 4.6% on Disappointing Earnings

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)’s stock price traded down 4.6% during trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $109.90 and last traded at $110.23. 309,567 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,483,477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.55.

The asset manager reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by ($0.08). T. Rowe Price Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 30.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on TROW shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of T. Rowe Price Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, T. Rowe Price Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other T. Rowe Price Group news, VP Andrew Justin Mackenzi Thomson sold 4,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.35, for a total value of $499,197.45. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 119,577 shares in the company, valued at $14,749,822.95. This trade represents a 3.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of T. Rowe Price Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in T. Rowe Price Group by 90.9% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 231 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 231 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 54.7% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 294 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 124.0% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 73.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.65.

T. Rowe Price Group Company Profile

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.