E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Takes $1.60 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB acquired a new position in Ross Stores, buying 8,861 shares worth approximately $1.60 million in the fourth quarter, according to its 13F filing.
• Ross topped estimates with $2.00 EPS vs. $1.90 expected and $6.64B revenue vs. $6.42B (revenue +12.2% YoY), and analysts remain bullish—consensus rating "Moderate Buy" with a $208.29 target and multiple firms (including Goldman Sachs) raising price targets.
• Dividend increased to $0.445 quarterly (annualized $1.78, yield ~0.8%), payable March 31 with an ex-dividend date of March 13 and a payout ratio of about 26.9%.

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB acquired a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,861 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,596,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Somerset Trust Co raised its stake in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.3% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 20,114 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,065,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finivi Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% in the third quarter. Finivi Inc. now owns 1,646 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.1% during the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,345 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.29.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $215.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.97. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.07 and a 1-year high of $216.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.93%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total value of $546,753.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 103,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,234,874.95. This represents a 2.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.20% of the stock is currently 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.

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