GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG) shares continue to trade at an 18-month low amid the company's chief investment officer buying up big.
GQG Partners chair and CIO, Rajiv Jain, has bought more than $9.83 million in shares over the past month for his personal portfolio.
Jain began buying a week after the company unveiled its 1H FY25 results during earnings season last month.
He has paid between about $1.66 per share to about $1.77 per share.
It's common to see senior executives trading shares in the companies they run shortly after financial reports are released to the market.
That's when a company's financial and operational health is most transparent, so it's the best time for directors to make personal trades.
Jain's increased holdings may provide comfort to GQG shares investors, who have watched the stock drop 6% over the past month to an 18-month low of $1.65.
The share price fall has resulted in this ASX financial stock now trading on an impressive 13% trailing dividend yield.
GQG Partners enters ASX 200
This week, GQG Partners was one of 9 ASX shares to join the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
This gives the boutique asset manager a bit more prestige in the marketplace, and it can have tangible effects on the share price because fund managers of index-tracking ASX ETFs have to buy stock in all the companies going into the index and sell those that are leaving.
What did GQG Partners report for FY25?
GQG reported revenue of US$403 million, up 11% on 1H FY24, and a 14.4% increase in net profit after tax (NPAT) to US$230 million.
Total funds under management (FUM) increased 10.8% to US$172.4 billion as of 30 June.
However, net inflows decreased 28% from US$11.1 billion in 1H FY24 to US$8 billion in 1H FY25.
The diluted earnings per share (EPS) for FY25 was 8 cents, up 14.3% on FY24.
The board declared an unfranked interim dividend of 7.34 US cents per share, up 14.5% on 1H FY24.
GQG paid that dividend out today.
Should you buy this ASX 200 financial share?
Macquarie has an outperform rating on GQG Partners shares with a 12-month price target of $2.63.
That suggests a potential upside of almost 60% in just one year for investors who buy today.
The GQG Partners share price closed at $1.665 on Friday, down 0.89% for the day and down 18.9% in the year to date.
