Banco Santander S.A. Raises Stock Position in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 20.2% during the 1st quarter, acquiring a total of 111,874 shares worth approximately $10.3 million.
• Brokerage reports indicate a mixed sentiment, with Goldman Sachs lowering its target price from $89 to $80 and maintaining a "sell" rating, while Morgan Stanley increased its target price from $95 to $104.
• T. Rowe Price Group recently reported $2.24 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates despite a 0.6% decline in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.

Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report) by 20.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,874 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 18,794 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. owned 0.05% of T. Rowe Price Group worth $10,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in T. Rowe Price Group by 44.8% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 365 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in T. Rowe Price Group in the first quarter worth $39,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in T. Rowe Price Group during the first quarter valued at $41,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in T. Rowe Price Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 73.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other T. Rowe Price Group news, insider Jessica M. Hiebler sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.98, for a total transaction of $93,876.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 13,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,319,994.78. This trade represents a 6.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dorothy C. Sawyer sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on TROW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen lowered 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, T. Rowe Price Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $101.09.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TROW traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $104.00. 204,039 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,830,827. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.85 and a 52 week high of $125.81. The company has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.27.

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

T. Rowe Price Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $1.27 dividend. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. T. Rowe Price Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.76%.

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.