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

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,260,000 shares, a drop of 14.2% from the December 31st total of 11,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.7 days. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

T. Rowe Price Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TROW traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $116.92. 3,761,382 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,442,329. T. Rowe Price Group has a 52-week low of $100.49 and a 52-week high of $125.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $116.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.76.

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.21. T. Rowe Price Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 30.35%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that T. Rowe Price Group will post 9.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at T. Rowe Price Group

In other news, VP Andrew Justin Mackenzi Thomson sold 4,047 shares of the firm’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of T. Rowe Price Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,840,807 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $745,169,000 after buying an additional 231,286 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,515,198 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $598,801,000 after buying an additional 25,481 shares during the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. increased its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 2,611,294 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $295,311,000 after buying an additional 213,566 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,861,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $202,768,000 after buying an additional 47,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in T. Rowe Price Group by 4.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,375,306 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $149,812,000 after buying an additional 53,997 shares during the last quarter. 73.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $106.00 to $102.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded T. Rowe Price Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on T. Rowe Price Group from $124.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.82.

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.