T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Group shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $118.47 after closing previously at $116.11.
• Despite the stock’s rally, analyst sentiment remains cautious: the consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average target price of $100.54, and several firms recently cut or lowered targets.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $2.52 versus $2.37 expected, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, yielding about 4.4% annually.

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $118.47 and last traded at $117.9840, with a volume of 585373 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $116.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on TROW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Zacks Research upgraded T. Rowe Price Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $107.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays upped their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $100.54.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $25.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $105.01 and a 200-day moving average of $100.13.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.23 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On T. Rowe Price Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of 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 purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 540.9% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 282 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in T. Rowe Price Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 73.39% of the company's stock.

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.

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.