T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 22,306,663 shares, an increase of 33.5% from the November 30th total of 16,706,147 shares. Currently, 10.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,925,402 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,925,402 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.6 days. Currently, 10.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Arif Husain sold 4,260 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.96, for a total value of $434,349.60. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 47,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,802,519.92. This trade represents a 8.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On T. Rowe Price Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TROW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,416,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,549,213,000 after acquiring an additional 130,325 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in T. Rowe Price Group by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,510,271 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,400,241,000 after purchasing an additional 211,647 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 1.8% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,846,636 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $757,200,000 after purchasing an additional 140,385 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 3.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,014,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $578,059,000 after buying an additional 197,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group by 0.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,444,720 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $332,415,000 after buying an additional 11,036 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.39% of the company’s stock.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Performance

T. Rowe Price Group stock opened at $103.23 on Wednesday. T. Rowe Price Group has a 52 week low of $77.85 and a 52 week high of $118.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $102.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.36.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. T. Rowe Price Group had a return on equity of 19.95% and a net margin of 28.89%.T. Rowe Price Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that T. Rowe Price Group will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

T. Rowe Price Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $1.27 per share. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. T. Rowe Price Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TROW shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target on T. Rowe Price Group from $105.00 to $107.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of T. Rowe Price Group in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $118.00 to $115.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of T. Rowe Price Group from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, T. Rowe Price Group has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $108.31.

T. Rowe Price Group Company Profile

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.