Rafferty Asset Management LLC Acquires 2,276 Shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,938 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,276 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $9,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Prana Capital Management LP bought a new stake in T. Rowe Price Group during the 4th quarter valued at $3,720,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,734,620 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $196,168,000 after acquiring an additional 130,936 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 64.3% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 30,377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,435,000 after acquiring an additional 11,890 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the 4th quarter worth $371,000. Finally, Man Group plc grew its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 43,330 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,900,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.39% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert F. Maclellan sold 3,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.56, for a total transaction of $362,119.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 42,979 shares in the company, valued at $3,935,157.24. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jessica M. Hiebler sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.98, for a total value of $93,876.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,319,994.78. This represents a 6.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $113.00 target price (up previously from $111.00) on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research note on Monday, May 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of T. Rowe Price Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 2nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.09.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ TROW opened at $98.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.60 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.50. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.85 and a 52 week high of $125.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.80.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. T. Rowe Price Group had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 20.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.18%. T. Rowe Price Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.60%.

T. Rowe Price Group 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.