Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Acquires 6,985 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Oppenheimer Asset Management raised its stake in Ross Stores by 127.4%, buying 6,985 shares in Q4 to hold 12,467 shares valued at about $2.246 million at the end of the period.
• Ross topped quarterly expectations, reporting $2.00 EPS vs. $1.90 expected and $6.64B revenue (+12.2% YoY); analysts have raised price targets and the stock carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $212.06.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.445 (annualized $1.78, yield ~0.8%), while insiders sold 25,756 shares over the past three months and now own 2.10% of the stock.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 127.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,467 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 6,985 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,762,583 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,487,720,000 after buying an additional 180,182 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 4,747,639 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $605,704,000 after buying an additional 426,370 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,655,932 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $709,518,000 after buying an additional 252,284 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,045,346 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $616,470,000 after buying an additional 375,470 shares during the period. Finally, Marshfield Associates raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 4,020,413 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $612,671,000 after buying an additional 157,385 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $226.02 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.49 and a 52-week high of $230.44. The stock has a market cap of $72.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $215.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.24.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $208.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $212.06.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Ross Stores

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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