Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Position Lowered by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. cut its stake in Ross Stores by 24.0% in Q4, selling 10,633 shares and leaving 33,741 shares valued at about $6.08 million.
• Ross beat the quarter with $2.00 EPS (vs. $1.90 est.) and $6.64 billion revenue (up 12.2% YoY), and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 ($1.78 annual).
• Several analysts lifted price targets (e.g., Citigroup $240, Goldman Sachs $244, Wells Fargo $235), leaving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $212.06.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,741 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 10,633 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 7,000.0% during the fourth 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 bought a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $29,000. City Holding Co. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 162.6% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $212.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $226.02 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $215.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.19, a P/E/G 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. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.49 and a 52-week high of $230.44.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,147.67. The trade was a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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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