T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) Stake Decreased by Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,768 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 191 shares during the quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 231 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in T. Rowe Price Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 124.0% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 305 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 73.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TROW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of T. Rowe Price Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.27, for a total transaction of $449,318.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Performance

T. Rowe Price Group stock opened at $95.47 on Wednesday. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.37 and a 52 week high of $125.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $105.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.13.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last issued its 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.27 per share. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from T. Rowe Price Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. T. Rowe Price Group’s payout ratio is 55.46%.

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.