T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) Shares Sold by DF Dent & Co. Inc.

DF Dent & Co. Inc. lowered its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,887 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,233 shares during the period. DF Dent & Co. Inc.’s holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $8,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in T. Rowe Price Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $117,704,000. Amundi grew its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,717,877 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $194,064,000 after acquiring an additional 397,278 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,187,176 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $812,798,000 after acquiring an additional 346,369 shares during the period. L.K. Benson & Company P.C. purchased a new stake in T. Rowe Price Group in the 4th quarter valued at $36,643,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in T. Rowe Price Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,332,000. 73.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:TROW opened at $93.90 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.62. The stock has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.46. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.70 and a fifty-two week high of $125.81.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.20 by ($0.08). T. Rowe Price Group had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 29.61%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from T. Rowe Price Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.41%. T. Rowe Price Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other T. Rowe Price Group news, Director Robert F. Maclellan sold 3,955 shares of T. Rowe Price Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.56, for a total transaction of $362,119.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,935,157.24. The trade was a 8.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 36,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,021,136. This represents a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TROW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $113.00 price objective (up from $111.00) on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded T. Rowe Price Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $113.00 to $105.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $126.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, T. Rowe Price Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.82.

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.