Destination Wealth Management Increases Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Destination Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 118,960 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,658 shares during the quarter. Destination Wealth Management’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $18,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 162.6% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 152.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 257 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Evercore boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $208.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.29.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $206.28 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $216.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total transaction of $546,753.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 103,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,234,874.95. This trade represents a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.