Virtu Financial LLC Buys New Position in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. $TROW

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC opened a new position in T. Rowe Price Group in the fourth quarter, buying 12,140 shares worth about $1.24 million.
• T. Rowe Price reported better-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 declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, implying an annualized payout of $5.20 and a 4.8% yield; however, analysts remain cautious, with an average rating of "Reduce" and a target price of $100.08.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 12,140 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,243,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MTM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. GenTrust LLC raised its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 2,114 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 4.5% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 2,579 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. lifted its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 37,490 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,838,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,541 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. 73.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

Shares of TROW opened at $107.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 1.50. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.22 and a twelve month high of $118.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.85.

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

T. Rowe Price Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. T. Rowe Price Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.73%.

Insider Activity at T. Rowe Price Group

In related 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on TROW. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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 report on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen raised their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of T. Rowe Price Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $85.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $106.00 to $103.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $100.08.

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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