L.K. Benson & Company P.C. Buys New Holdings in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

L.K. Benson & Company P.C. purchased a new position in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 324,020 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $36,643,000. T. Rowe Price Group accounts for approximately 25.8% of L.K. Benson & Company P.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 5.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 346,369 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,515,198 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $598,801,000 after purchasing an additional 25,481 shares during the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. grew its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 8.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,870,446 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $211,529,000 after purchasing an additional 8,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,717,877 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $194,064,000 after buying an additional 397,278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.39% of the company’s stock.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of T. Rowe Price Group stock opened at $93.60 on Wednesday. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.37 and a 52 week high of $125.81. The company has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $107.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.48.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 29.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.27 per share. This is an increase from T. Rowe Price Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. T. Rowe Price Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at T. Rowe Price Group

In other news, 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 transaction of $449,318.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 36,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,021,136. This trade represents a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $113.00 to $105.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $118.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of T. Rowe Price Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 2nd. Finally, 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 report on Monday, February 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.09.

T. Rowe Price Group 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.