Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 23,772 shares valued at about $4.28 million.
• Several analysts remain constructive on the stock, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $212.06; Guggenheim recently reiterated a $290 target and a buy rating.
• Ross Stores reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.00 EPS on $6.64 billion in revenue, and also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 per share.

Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,772 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,847 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 7,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. City Holding Co. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1,080.0% during the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 89.0% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Sixteen 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $212.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $225.81 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $124.49 and a one year high of $231.16. The stock has a market cap of $72.74 billion, a PE ratio of 34.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $217.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.73.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

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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