Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Acquires 243 Shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP raised its stake in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,381 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 67.4% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 231 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 48.8% during the 4th quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 305 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in T. Rowe Price Group during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TROW shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $113.00 to $105.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $113.00 price objective (up previously from $111.00) on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Andrew Justin Mackenzi Thomson sold 4,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.35, for a total value of $499,197.45. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 119,577 shares in the company, valued at $14,749,822.95. This trade represents a 3.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TROW opened at $103.73 on Friday. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.49 and a fifty-two week high of $125.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $111.96 and its 200 day moving average is $112.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.44.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $2.12 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be 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 yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. T. Rowe Price Group’s dividend payout ratio 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.