196,315 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 196,315 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $25,087,000. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.06% of Ross Stores at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup raised shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.67.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.1%

ROST traded up $1.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $143.80. 1,496,438 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,702,228. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business's 50 day moving average is $141.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.95. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.14.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Ross Stores

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.