Willis Investment Counsel Trims Holdings in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Willis Investment Counsel lowered its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) by 18.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 179,874 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 41,552 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $16,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 7.0% in the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 15,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Polianta Ltd purchased a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the first quarter worth about $1,130,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 7.7% in the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 303,833 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,913,000 after purchasing an additional 21,759 shares during the last quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. raised its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 26.5% in the first quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 15,246 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the first quarter worth about $524,000. Institutional investors own 73.39% of the company’s stock.

T. Rowe Price Group Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of TROW stock opened at $94.58 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.81. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.85 and a twelve month high of $125.81. The company has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.49.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.10. T. Rowe Price Group had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 29.61%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

T. Rowe Price Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.27 dividend. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. T. Rowe Price Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at T. Rowe Price Group

In related news, VP Dorothy C. Sawyer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.43, for a total value of $190,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,274,214.27. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert F. Maclellan sold 3,955 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.56, for a total value of $362,119.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,935,157.24. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,923 shares of company stock valued at $646,856. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $110.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research note on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.09.

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.