Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Position in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report) by 45.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 490,155 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 152,430 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.22% of T. Rowe Price Group worth $53,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 7,992.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,067,655 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $116,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054,461 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 382.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 398,175 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $43,373,000 after acquiring an additional 315,581 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,840,807 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $745,169,000 after acquiring an additional 231,286 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,611,307 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $185,810,000 after acquiring an additional 220,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 77.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 451,237 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $52,032,000 after purchasing an additional 196,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.39% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other T. Rowe Price Group news, VP Andrew Justin Mackenzi Thomson sold 4,047 shares of T. Rowe Price Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 119,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,749,822.95. The trade was a 3.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Performance

T. Rowe Price Group stock traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $117.89. 1,744,585 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,272,744. The firm has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $116.92 and a 200 day moving average of $113.25. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.49 and a 12-month high of $125.81.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.21. T. Rowe Price Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 30.35%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. T. Rowe Price Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on TROW shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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 raised their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $106.00 to $102.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.09.

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.