Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Increases Position in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) by 40.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,240 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,649 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $1,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Insight Folios Inc grew its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,612 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Services grew its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 1,885 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 6,226 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC grew its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 4,496 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.39% of the company’s stock.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Up 0.7 %

T. Rowe Price Group stock opened at $107.88 on Wednesday. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.49 and a 52-week high of $125.81. The company’s 50 day moving average is $113.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.32. The firm has a market cap of $23.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.44.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 20.91%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, 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 will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.27 dividend. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.71%. This is a positive change from T. Rowe Price Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. T. Rowe Price Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TROW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $118.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of T. Rowe Price Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.27, for a total value of $449,318.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 36,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,021,136. This trade represents a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Andrew Justin Mackenzi Thomson sold 4,047 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly 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. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.