Bank of Nova Scotia Boosts Stock Position in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report) by 283.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 224,666 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 166,083 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.10% of T. Rowe Price Group worth $25,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 0.5% in 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. raised its position in 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 worth $812,798,000 after acquiring an additional 346,369 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,631,429 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $635,260,000 after acquiring an additional 116,231 shares during the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. grew its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 2,611,294 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $295,311,000 after acquiring an additional 213,566 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 1.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 73.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at T. Rowe Price Group

In related 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 transaction of $362,119.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 42,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,935,157.24. This represents a 8.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of the firm'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 owns 36,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,021,136. This represents a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $104.00 to $80.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $126.00 to $121.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $113.00 price target (up from $111.00) on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.09.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Performance

Shares of TROW traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $88.86. 542,527 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,955,115. The company has a market cap of $19.75 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.50. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.85 and a 52-week high of $125.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $97.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.02.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $1.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.72%. This is a positive change from T. Rowe Price Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. T. Rowe Price Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.46%.

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.