Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Acquires 276 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,582 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 276 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 458.0% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Steward Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 164.1% in the 3rd quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 338 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $132.15 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $151.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $142.99 and its 200-day moving average is $135.12. The firm has a market cap of $44.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.04.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ROST. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores Company 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.