Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Purchased by Horizon Investments LLC

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC more than doubled its stake in Ross Stores, increasing holdings by 110.9% after purchasing 12,034 shares and ending the quarter with 22,886 shares worth about $4.12 million.
• Ross topped Q4 expectations with $2.00 EPS (vs. $1.90 est.) and $6.64 billion revenue (up 12.2% year-over-year), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 ($1.78 annualized).
• Company insiders sold 25,756 shares (~$5.52 million) in the last 90 days, including large sales by the COO and CMO, while analysts have been lifting targets (Goldman $244, Citi $240) and the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $212.06.

Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 110.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,886 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 12,034 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in 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. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $212.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $228.71 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $73.68 billion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.49 and a twelve month high of $230.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.24.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.64 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. 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. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.93%.

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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