Swedbank AB Grows Holdings in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. $TROW

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 20.9% in the first quarter, buying 8,917 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 51,509 shares worth about $4.64 million.
• T. Rowe Price posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.52 versus estimates of $2.37 and revenue of $1.86 billion, up 5.3% year over year.
• The company continues to pay a sizable dividend, distributing $1.30 per share quarterly for an annualized yield of 4.4%; meanwhile, analysts currently have a consensus “Reduce” rating with an average price target of $101.83.

Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,509 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 8,917 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB's holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $4,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 91.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 257 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in T. Rowe Price Group by 540.9% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 282 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in T. Rowe Price Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 170.3% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 300 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in T. Rowe Price Group during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 73.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Performance

TROW stock traded up $1.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $118.55. 1,785,450 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,199,676. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.22 and a 12 month high of $121.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.88. The company has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.47.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. T. Rowe Price Group had a net margin of 28.28% and a return on equity of 20.60%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. T. Rowe Price Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.73%.

Insider Activity at T. Rowe Price Group

In other news, VP Stephon A. Jackson sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 83,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,603,040.48. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded T. Rowe Price Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $101.83.

About T. Rowe Price Group

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TROW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.