HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. $TROW

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 42.9% during the first quarter, now owning approximately $19.76 million worth of shares.
• Multiple analysts have raised their target prices for T. Rowe Price Group, with Morgan Stanley notably increasing it to $116.00, reflecting growing optimism about the stock.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.27 per share, translating to a 4.7% dividend yield, with the payout to be issued on September 29th.

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report) by 42.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 215,105 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 64,555 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of T. Rowe Price Group worth $19,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in T. Rowe Price Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 73.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:TROW traded down $1.3250 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $104.4350. The company had a trading volume of 142,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,785,958. 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 50-day moving average price of $101.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.73. The company has a market capitalization of $22.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.47.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $2.24 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

T. Rowe Price Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. T. Rowe Price Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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 dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.43, for a total transaction of $190,860.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 44,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,274,214.27. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TROW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $101.09.

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.