Confluence Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 986,521 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,532 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Group accounts for 1.5% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $111,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,056 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,736,000 after buying an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,348 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC lifted its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 48.6% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 2,995 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 80,564 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,290,000 after purchasing an additional 11,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group during the second quarter worth about $268,000. 73.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

NASDAQ TROW traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $113.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 196,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,278,027. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.49 and a 52-week high of $125.81. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.19.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.21. T. Rowe Price Group had a net margin of 30.35% and a return on equity of 20.35%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

T. Rowe Price Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. T. Rowe Price Group’s payout ratio is 54.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Andrew Justin Mackenzi Thomson sold 4,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.35, for a total transaction of $499,197.45. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 119,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,749,822.95. The trade was a 3.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TROW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $112.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, T. Rowe Price Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.00.

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.