GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Acquires 4,754 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• GF Fund Management increased its stake in Ross Stores by 7.3%, buying 4,754 shares to hold 70,245 shares valued at about $12.65 million.
• Wall Street analysts have pushed up price targets (e.g., Goldman to $244, Wells Fargo to $235), leaving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $208.29.
• Ross posted an earnings beat (Q EPS $2.00 vs. $1.90 expected) and revenue of $6.64B (+12.2% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.41 to $0.445 ($1.78 annualized).

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,245 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 4,754 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $12,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LifeWealth Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 16,946 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,053,000 after buying an additional 3,560 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,739 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Pennsylvania Capital Management Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 156,117 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $28,123,000 after buying an additional 25,507 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.29.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $227.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $210.07 and a 200-day moving average of $186.07. The company has a market cap of $73.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.92. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $124.49 and a one year high of $228.71.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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