Willis Investment Counsel Sells 12,545 Shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Willis Investment Counsel decreased its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 208,683 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 12,545 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Group makes up 1.6% of Willis Investment Counsel's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Willis Investment Counsel owned 0.09% of T. Rowe Price Group worth $22,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,183,563 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,051,553,000 after purchasing an additional 625,340 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,031,123 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $562,187,000 after purchasing an additional 103,934 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,900,101 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $513,874,000 after purchasing an additional 134,839 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,483,350 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $365,299,000 after purchasing an additional 25,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,356,132 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $247,088,000 after purchasing an additional 93,829 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.85% of the company's stock.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Performance

Shares of TROW traded up $3.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $118.00. 1,393,240 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,467,266. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.43 and a 52 week high of $132.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.38.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.12. T. Rowe Price Group had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 27.69%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This is an increase from T. Rowe Price Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. T. Rowe Price Group's payout ratio is presently 63.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other T. Rowe Price Group news, insider Jessica M. Hiebler sold 1,138 shares of T. Rowe Price Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.13, for a total value of $121,913.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,113 shares in the company, valued at $1,511,925.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other T. Rowe Price Group news, Director Freeman A. Hrabowski III sold 8,740 shares of T. Rowe Price Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.32, for a total value of $1,034,116.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,073 shares in the company, valued at $2,493,357.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jessica M. Hiebler sold 1,138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.13, for a total value of $121,913.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,511,925.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $86.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on T. Rowe Price Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $97.30.

T. Rowe Price Group Company Profile

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.