Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Position Boosted by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. increased its Ross Stores stake by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 27,883 shares worth about $5.0 million.
• Ross Stores reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.00 versus estimates of $1.90 and revenue of $6.64 billion versus $6.42 billion expected.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 per share, while analysts remain mostly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $212.06.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,883 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 4,714 shares during the quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 7,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. City Holding Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1,080.0% during the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Barclays increased their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group set a $208.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.06.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ ROST opened at $225.81 on Friday. 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 cap of $72.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.87. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $124.49 and a one year high of $231.16. The stock's 50-day moving average is $217.05 and its 200-day moving average is $192.73.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. 2.10% 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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