Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Boosts Stock Position in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. $TROW

Key Points

• Smithbridge Asset Management nearly doubled its T. Rowe Price stake in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 99.5% to 73,896 shares worth about $7.6 million.
• Institutional interest remains high, with hedge funds and other investors owning 73.39% of T. Rowe Price Group shares.
• The company beat quarterly earnings estimates and announced a $1.30 per share quarterly dividend, implying a 4.9% yield; however, analysts still hold a cautious view with a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE raised its stake in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report) by 99.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,896 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 36,851 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE's holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $7,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fidelity National Financial Inc. purchased a new position in T. Rowe Price Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $15,152,000. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 14,840 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,002,641 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $102,650,000 after purchasing an additional 74,681 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC grew its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 31,940 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 633,529 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $64,861,000 after purchasing an additional 61,826 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $106.00 to $111.00 in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $100.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Stephon A. Jackson sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.56, for a total value of $307,680.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 83,883 shares in the company, valued at $8,603,040.48. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

Shares of TROW opened at $106.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.80 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.42 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's fifty day moving average price is $100.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.50.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The asset manager reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. T. Rowe Price Group had a net margin of 28.28% and a return on equity of 20.60%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

T. Rowe Price Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. T. Rowe Price Group's payout ratio is 55.73%.

T. Rowe Price Group 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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