Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP trimmed its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,180 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 384 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 458.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.0 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $133.48 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month 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 has a market cap of $44.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $139.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.39.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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 $0.3675 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 26.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,219.74. 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. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ROST. Citigroup raised their target price on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Guggenheim upped their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.11.

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.