Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Has $16.70 Million Position in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI reduced its stake in T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. 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 1.3% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $16,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TROW. Addison Advisors LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 124.0% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in T. Rowe Price Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 305 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in T. Rowe Price Group during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 73.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at T. Rowe Price Group

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 119,577 shares in the company, valued at $14,749,822.95. This represents a 3.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Arif Husain sold 4,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.27, for a total value of $449,318.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 36,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,021,136. This represents a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on T. Rowe Price Group from $126.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com cut T. Rowe Price Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.09.

T. Rowe Price Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:TROW opened at $100.66 on Friday. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $97.26 and a 1 year high of $125.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.12. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

T. Rowe Price Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.05%. This is an increase from T. Rowe Price Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. T. Rowe Price Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.46%.

T. Rowe Price Group Company 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.