F m Investments LLC Trims Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• F m Investments LLC trimmed its stake in Ross Stores by 26.2% in Q3, selling 14,246 shares and leaving it with 40,197 shares worth about $6.13 million.
• Ross Stores beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.00 (vs. $1.90 est.) and $6.64 billion in revenue, and announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.445 per share (ex-dividend March 13).
• Several analysts raised price targets (e.g., JPMorgan to $232, Citigroup to $240), leaving the stock with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.29.

F m Investments LLC lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,197 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 14,246 shares during the period. F m Investments LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $1,265,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,949,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,411,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth approximately $4,790,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Ross Stores by 84.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 227,340 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $34,645,000 after purchasing an additional 104,270 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore raised their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.29.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $206.28 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $196.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.22. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a PE ratio of 31.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors 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 is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.51%.

Ross Stores 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ROST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.