High costs hurt T. Rowe’s earnings

Article Excerpt

T. ROWE PRICE GROUP INC. $94 is still a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol TROW; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 220.3 million; Market cap: $20.7 billion; Dividend yield: 5.4%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.troweprice.com) is a leading seller of mutual funds and wealth management services. The company raised your quarterly dividend by 2.4% with the March 2025 payment. The new annual rate of $5.08 a share yields a high 5.4%. T. Rowe Price’s revenue in the first quarter of 2025 rose 0.8%, to $1.76 billion from $1.75 billion a year earlier. Due to increased expenses for payroll, advertising and investments in new technology, its earnings before unusual items decreased 7.1%, to $509.3 million from $548.5 million. On fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share decreased at a slightly slower pace of 6.3%, to $2.23 from $2.38. T. Rowe Price is still a buy. buy. …