Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 32.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,174 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,230 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $649,318,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995,760 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8,209.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $360,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,543 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $230,204,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $504,684,000 after buying an additional 1,368,571 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ ROST traded down $3.69 on Wednesday, reaching $136.39. The company had a trading volume of 4,644,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,713,886. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $141.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.89. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $44.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ROST. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.67.

Ross Stores Profile

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.