Morgan Stanley Cuts T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) Price Target to $121.00

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $126.00 to $121.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $113.00 price objective (up previously from $111.00) on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $118.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $113.00 to $105.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.09.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TROW opened at $104.74 on Monday. T. Rowe Price Group has a 12 month low of $100.49 and a 12 month high of $125.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $112.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.38.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by ($0.08). T. Rowe Price Group had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 29.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.27 per share. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from T. Rowe Price Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. T. Rowe Price Group’s payout ratio is 55.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Justin Mackenzi Thomson sold 4,047 shares of T. Rowe Price Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.35, for a total transaction of $499,197.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 119,577 shares in the company, valued at $14,749,822.95. The trade was a 3.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.27, for a total value of $449,318.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 36,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,021,136. This trade represents a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On T. Rowe Price Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TROW. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in T. Rowe Price Group by 67.4% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 231 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 48.8% during the fourth quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 305 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 73.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About T. Rowe Price Group

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.