Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases 41,347 Shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly increased its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 180.7% during the first quarter, acquiring 41,347 shares for a total holding worth approximately $5.9 million.
• Multiple institutional investors are actively adjusting their positions in T. Rowe Price Group, with 73.39% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• The latest earnings report revealed a net margin of 28.38% for T. Rowe Price Group, with a quarterly EPS of $2.24, surpassing analysts' estimates by $0.09.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report) by 180.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,227 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 41,347 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $5,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TROW. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in T. Rowe Price Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,284,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 6,052,469 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $684,474,000 after purchasing an additional 425,142 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,762,910 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $199,367,000 after purchasing an additional 387,604 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 9,555.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 333,212 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,612,000 after purchasing an additional 329,761 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in T. Rowe Price Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,332,000. 73.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TROW traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.62. 656,893 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,837,145. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.85 and a one year high of $125.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.47. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $98.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.22.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. T. Rowe Price Group's revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $1.27 dividend. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. T. Rowe Price Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.76%.

Insider Activity

In other T. Rowe Price Group news, insider Jessica M. Hiebler sold 968 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.98, for a total value of $93,876.64. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,319,994.78. This trade represents a 6.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,274,214.27. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TROW. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up previously from $91.00) on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a report on Monday. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $112.00 to $89.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, T. Rowe Price Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.09.

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.