StockNews.com Lowers T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $120.00 target price (down from $121.00) on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $110.00 to $107.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $123.00 to $118.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $100.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $114.56.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

Shares of T. Rowe Price Group stock opened at $112.03 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $116.13 and a 200 day moving average of $114.17. T. Rowe Price Group has a 12 month low of $87.43 and a 12 month high of $122.27.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The asset manager reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by ($0.01). T. Rowe Price Group had a net margin of 28.66% and a return on equity of 19.90%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. T. Rowe Price Group’s payout ratio is 58.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jessica M. Hiebler sold 1,401 shares of T. Rowe Price Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.85, for a total transaction of $162,305.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,838.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Jessica M. Hiebler sold 1,401 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.85, for a total value of $162,305.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,838.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Dorothy C. Sawyer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 34,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,061,070. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in T. Rowe Price Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Park Place Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 1,775.0% during the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 300 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group during the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 660.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 327 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.39% of the company’s stock.

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.