Prudential PLC Trims Position in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Prudential PLC reduced its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) by 24.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,188 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,720 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $2,947,559,000 after buying an additional 135,203 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 raised its position in T. Rowe Price Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,631,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $635,260,000 after purchasing an additional 116,231 shares during the period. Provident Trust Co. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 213,566 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,870,446 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $211,529,000 after purchasing an additional 8,992 shares during the last quarter. 73.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TROW opened at $81.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $101.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.12. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.85 and a 1-year high of $125.81.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last released 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 return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 29.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.27 per share. This is a boost from T. Rowe Price Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. T. Rowe Price Group’s payout ratio is 55.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on TROW shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $126.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $113.00 to $105.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $103.00 to $89.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut T. Rowe Price Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert F. Maclellan sold 3,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 42,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,935,157.24. This represents a 8.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 36,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,021,136. This trade represents a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.