Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Stake in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. by 505.5% in Q1, acquiring an additional 144,187 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 172,709 shares valued at $15.87 million.
• Wall Street analysts have differing views on T. Rowe Price Group, with Barclays maintaining an "underweight" rating and a price target of $95.00, while Evercore ISI raised their price target to $110.00.
• T. Rowe Price Group reported $2.24 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, although revenue declined 0.6% year-over-year.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report) by 505.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 172,709 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 144,187 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of T. Rowe Price Group worth $15,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in T. Rowe Price Group during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 44.8% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 365 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TROW has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.09.

T. Rowe Price Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of TROW stock traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $109.06. 940,717 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,814,135. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.02. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.85 and a 52-week high of $125.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.47.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.09. T. Rowe Price Group had a net margin of 28.72% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. T. Rowe Price Group's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $1.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. T. Rowe Price Group's payout ratio is currently 56.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Dorothy C. Sawyer sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.43, for a total value of $190,860.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 44,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,274,214.27. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.