T. Rowe Price

T. ROWE PRICE GROUP INC. $49 (Nasdaq symbol TROW; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 252.6 million; Market cap: $12.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.7; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.troweprice.com) saw the value of mutual funds and other assets it manages fall 5.9%, to $453.5 billion on September 30, 2011, from $482.0 billion at the start of the …read more »

T. ROWE PRICE GROUP INC. $62 (Nasdaq symbol TROW; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 259.8 million; Market cap: $16.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.5; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.troweprice.com) sells mutual funds and wealth-management services.

Rising stock markets have lifted the value of the assets that T. Rowe Price manages. On March 31, 2011, these assets were worth …read more »

Bank stocks tend to account for the bulk of most investors’ Finance-sector holdings. Banks are writing down fewer loans as the economy recovers and borrowers pay back their loans, but demand for new mortgages and other loans remains weak.

To diversify your Finance holdings, we recommend investing in non-bank financial-services companies, such as these six. We have a high opinion of …read more »

CEDAR FAIR L.P. $20 (www.cedarfair.com) lost $31.6 million, or $0.57 a unit, in 2010, mainly due to $98.1 million in charges related to the early repayment of debt and a writedown of fixed assets. In 2009, it earned $35.4 million, or $0.63 a unit. Revenue in 2010 rose 6.7%, to a record $977.6 million from $916.1 million, thanks to a …read more »

3M COMPANY $47 (New York symbol MMM) has temporarily stopped buying back its shares in order to conserve cash. However, 3M raised its quarterly dividend by 2%, to $0.51 a share from $0.50. The new annual rate of $2.04 yields 4.3%. 3M has increased its dividend each year for the past 51 years. Buy.

T. ROWE PRICE GROUP INC. $24 (NASDAQ …read more »

MOLSON COORS BREWING CO. $57 has received approval from anti-trust regulators to merge its operations in the United States and Puerto Rico with those of rival brewer SABMiller plc. The new venture will account for about 30% of U.S. beer sales. The cost savings will also help Molson Coors compete with market leader Anheuser-Busch, which recently accepted a takeover offer …read more »

TD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY FUND $13.49 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (TD Asset Management, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario. M5W1P9. 1-800-386-375 7; Web site: www.tdcanadatrust.com. No load — deal directly with TD) invests mostly in U.S. firms engaged in the research, development and production of products or services related to science and technology.

TD Science & Technology’s top holdings include: Microsoft …read more »

Many tech stocks are down from the highs they reached late last year. That’s when the Nasdaq composite index reached 2,862, its highest level since early 2001.

Consumer spending for computers and electronics in the United States has slowed, along with overall lower consumer confidence, due in part to higher gasoline prices and volatile housing markets. Many U.S. corporations are also …read more »

T. ROWE PRICE GROUP INC. $54 (Nasdaq symbol TROW; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 263.8 million; Market cap: $14.2 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) sells and manages over 90 no-load mutual funds. It has over $400 billion in assets under management.

The stock got as high as $65.46 in December 2007, but has moved down with the stock market. While …read more »

Top-quality bank stocks are a sound addition to the Finance sector of most portfolios. However, you should also diversify your holdings with high-quality non-bank stocks such as these two.

H&R BLOCK INC. $19 (New York symbol HRB; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 325.0 million; Market cap: $6.2 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) prepares income tax returns through offices in …read more »