DnB Asset Management AS Cuts Stake in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

DnB Asset Management AS lowered its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report) by 53.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,420 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 57,333 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $5,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Glenview Trust co lifted its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 4,318 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 6,226 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 231 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 497 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advantage Trust Co grew its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 305 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on TROW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $103.00 to $89.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $118.00 to $116.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $126.00 to $121.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded T. Rowe Price Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 2nd. Five research 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, T. Rowe Price Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.50.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Performance

Shares of TROW stock traded down $3.62 on Friday, reaching $82.60. The stock had a trading volume of 4,563,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,392,882. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.37 and a 1 year high of $125.81. The stock has a market cap of $18.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.29.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

T. Rowe Price Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.27 per share. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. This is a positive change from T. Rowe Price Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. T. Rowe Price Group's payout ratio is 55.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at T. Rowe Price Group

In related news, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of T. Rowe Price Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.27, for a total transaction of $449,318.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 36,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,021,136. The trade was a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert F. Maclellan sold 3,955 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.56, for a total transaction of $362,119.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,935,157.24. The trade was a 8.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

T. Rowe Price Group 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.