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This is Why T. Rowe Price (TROW) is a Great Dividend Stock

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Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

T. Rowe Price in Focus

T. Rowe Price (TROW - Free Report) is headquartered in Baltimore, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 5.88% since the start of the year. The financial services firm is paying out a dividend of $1.24 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 4.35% compared to the Financial - Investment Management industry's yield of 3% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.58%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $4.96 is up 1.6% from last year. In the past five-year period, T. Rowe Price has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 11.84%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. T. Rowe's current payout ratio is 60%, meaning it paid out 60% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for TROW for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $8.36 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 10.14%.

Bottom Line

Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. But, not every company offers a quarterly payout.

For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers their shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that TROW is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).


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