Calamos Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Calamos Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,021 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,280 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $13,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 5,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. raised its position in Ross Stores by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 2,048 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 783 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,567,164.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $133.34 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $151.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $143.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $44.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.04.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company's Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.