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Valued at a market cap of $20.9 billion, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) is a publicly owned investment manager that provides a broad array of mutual funds, sub-advisory services, and separate account management for individuals, institutional investors, retirement plans, financial intermediaries, and institutions. The Baltimore, Maryland-based company also offers a variety of sophisticated investment planning and guidance tools.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are typically classified as “large-cap stocks,” and TROW fits the label perfectly, with its market cap exceeding this mark, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the asset management industry. Known for its disciplined, research-driven approach, the company’s key strengths include a strong brand reputation, a diversified product portfolio, and a history of consistent fund performance, which has helped attract and retain clients.
Despite its notable strength, this investment management company has slipped 25.2% from its 52-week high of $125.81, reached on Dec. 6, 2024. Moreover, it has declined nearly 16.8% over the past three months, considerably lagging behind the broader Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLF) 3.7% gain over the same time frame.
In the longer term, TROW has declined 18.1% over the past 52 weeks, massively underperforming XLF’s 20.7% uptick. Moreover, on a YTD basis, shares of TROW are down 16.8%, compared to XLF’s 2.6% rise.
To confirm its bearish trend, TROW has been trading below its 200-day moving average since early February, and has remained below its 50-day moving average since mid-December 2024.
On Feb. 5, shares of TROW plummeted 4.2% as the company delivered weaker-than-expected Q4 adjusted EPS of $2.12 and net revenue of $1.8 billion. Additionally, assets under management (AUM) declined by $24.3 billion during the quarter, bringing the total to $1.6 trillion. The drop in performance-based advisory fees and capital allocation-based income might have further weighed on investor confidence. However, on the brighter side, the bottom line grew nearly 23.3% from the year-ago quarter, while the top line advanced 11.1% year-over-year.
TROW’s underperformance becomes evident when compared to its rival, BlackRock, Inc.’s (BLK) 17.1% gain over the past 52 weeks and 6.5% decline on a YTD basis.
Looking at TROW’s recent underperformance, analysts remain moderately bearish about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Sell” from the 14 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $107.71 suggests a modest 14.5% premium to its current levels.
