T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) Sets New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price shares reached a new 52-week high of $121.42 and were trading up 1.8%, with the stock’s 50-day and 200-day moving averages at $110.52 and $101.81, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious despite the rally: the stock carries an average “Reduce” rating and a $104.50 price target, below its current trading level. Ratings include one Strong Buy, nine Holds, and four Sells.
• The asset manager exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.52 EPS and $1.86 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, equivalent to a 4.3% annualized yield.

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $121.42 and last traded at $121.6650, with a volume of 498848 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $119.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $98.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $89.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research upgraded T. Rowe Price Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, T. Rowe Price Group currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $104.50.

T. Rowe Price Group Trading Up 1.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $26.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.81.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The asset manager reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.23 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. T. Rowe Price Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other T. Rowe Price Group news, VP Stephon A. Jackson sold 3,000 shares of T. Rowe Price Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.56, for a total transaction of $307,680.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 83,883 shares in the company, valued at $8,603,040.48. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On T. Rowe Price Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 3.9% during the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 548,644 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $62,375,000 after acquiring an additional 20,743 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC raised its position in T. Rowe Price Group by 3.2% during the second quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 4,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC raised its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 3.4% during the second quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 28,687 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,261,000 after buying an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 187.4% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,584 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 6,901 shares during the period. Finally, Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 15,914 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,809,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 73.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.