Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Trims Stock Holdings in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI decreased its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147,706 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,278 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Group accounts for about 1.3% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI owned approximately 0.07% of T. Rowe Price Group worth $16,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 14.3% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 47,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,206,000 after buying an additional 5,980 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in T. Rowe Price Group by 40.5% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,304 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 2,105 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 2.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 275,978 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,062,000 after buying an additional 7,503 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group in the third quarter worth approximately $5,007,000. Institutional investors own 73.39% of the company’s stock.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Up 1.8 %

TROW stock opened at $100.66 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.12. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $97.26 and a 12-month high of $125.81. The company has a market cap of $22.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.46.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last posted 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 net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 20.83%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.27 per share. This is an increase from T. Rowe Price Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. T. Rowe Price Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at T. Rowe Price Group

In other news, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,021,136. The trade was a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Andrew Justin Mackenzi Thomson sold 4,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 119,577 shares in the company, valued at $14,749,822.95. This trade represents a 3.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on TROW. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $126.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $113.00 to $105.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered T. Rowe Price Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $113.00 price target (up previously from $111.00) on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, T. Rowe Price Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.09.

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.