Kerusso Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. $TROW

Key Points

• Kerusso Capital Management increased its stake in T. Rowe Price by 168.6% in Q4 to 42,658 shares worth about $4.37 million, making the stock roughly 2.0% of the firm’s holdings and its 19th largest position.
• Sell‑side sentiment has weakened: multiple firms cut price targets and ratings, leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Reduce" with a consensus price target of $96.85.
• T. Rowe Price recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (annualized $5.20), implying a 5.2% yield and a dividend payout ratio of about 56%.

Kerusso Capital Management LLC raised its position in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report) by 168.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,658 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 26,779 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Group makes up about 2.0% of Kerusso Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Kerusso Capital Management LLC's holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $4,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 540.9% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 282 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 170.3% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 300 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 84.3% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 317 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on TROW. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $107.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of T. Rowe Price Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $104.00 to $98.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $108.00 to $106.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $96.85.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TROW opened at $99.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 1.50. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.22 and a 1-year high of $118.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $92.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.42.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The asset manager reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. T. Rowe Price Group had a return on equity of 20.29% and a net margin of 28.53%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

T. Rowe Price Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from T. Rowe Price Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. T. Rowe Price Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.22%.

T. Rowe Price Group Company Profile

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc is a global investment management firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, founded by Thomas Rowe Price Jr. in 1937. The company provides a broad range of investment products and services for individual investors, financial intermediaries, retirement plan sponsors and institutional clients. Its offerings are built around active investment management and in-house research across equity, fixed income and multi-asset strategies, reflecting a long history as a research-driven asset manager.

The firm's product lineup includes mutual funds, separate accounts, collective investment trusts, target-date and target-risk funds, and managed account solutions, as well as services for defined contribution and defined benefit retirement plans.

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