Radnor Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Radnor Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 40.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,070 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impact Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,175 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 6,049 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,087,000. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,697 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded up $1.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $143.80. 1,496,438 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,702,228. The firm's 50-day moving average is $141.02 and its 200-day moving average is $142.95. The stock has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ROST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ross Stores from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.67.

About Ross Stores

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.