T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) Shares Acquired by Saratoga Research & Investment Management

Saratoga Research & Investment Management increased its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,736 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 67.4% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 231 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 124.0% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in T. Rowe Price Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co boosted its position in T. Rowe Price Group by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 305 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 73.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TROW opened at $91.57 on Monday. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.92 and a 12 month high of $125.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $104.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.92.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.29 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $1.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.55%. This is a boost from T. Rowe Price Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. T. Rowe Price Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TROW. StockNews.com cut T. Rowe Price Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 2nd. Barclays reduced their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $113.00 to $105.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $113.00 price objective (up from $111.00) on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $118.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $126.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.27, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.