T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $114.09.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TROW. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $126.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com downgraded T. Rowe Price Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 2nd. Barclays cut their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $118.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $113.00 price objective (up previously from $111.00) on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:TROW opened at $93.04 on Monday. T. Rowe Price Group has a 1 year low of $91.37 and a 1 year high of $125.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.64. The company has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.46.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $2.12 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.27 dividend. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.46%. This is a boost from T. Rowe Price Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. T. Rowe Price Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other T. Rowe Price Group news, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 36,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,021,136. This represents a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On T. Rowe Price Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TROW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the 4th quarter worth $117,704,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group during the 4th quarter worth $63,284,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 6,052,469 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $684,474,000 after purchasing an additional 425,142 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,717,877 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $194,064,000 after purchasing an additional 397,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,762,910 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $199,367,000 after purchasing an additional 387,604 shares during the last quarter. 73.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.