Heritage Trust Co Invests $465,000 in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Heritage Trust Co acquired a new stake in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,108 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $465,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,063,837 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,947,559,000 after purchasing an additional 135,203 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,187,176 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $812,798,000 after buying an additional 346,369 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,631,429 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $635,260,000 after purchasing an additional 116,231 shares in the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. increased its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 2,611,294 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $295,311,000 after buying an additional 213,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,397,819 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $271,169,000 after purchasing an additional 40,514 shares during the last quarter. 73.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on TROW shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded T. Rowe Price Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $110.00 to $90.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $96.00.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Performance

TROW traded up $1.54 on Thursday, reaching $86.91. 830,944 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,442,766. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.85 and a twelve month high of $125.81. The company's 50 day moving average is $96.58 and its 200-day moving average is $108.71. The company has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.50.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 20.83%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 declared 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 is a positive change from T. Rowe Price Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. T. Rowe Price Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert F. Maclellan sold 3,955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was 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 owns 42,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,935,157.24. This represents a 8.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.27, for a total transaction of $449,318.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 36,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,021,136. The trade was a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.