Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Stake Lifted by Flossbach Von Storch SE

Key Points

• Flossbach Von Storch SE increased its stake in Ross Stores by 4.0% to 120,637 shares, worth about $21.73 million, as part of an investor base that now amounts to roughly 86.86% institutional ownership.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — including Director Patricia H. Mueller and COO Michael J. Hartshorn — with 25,756 shares sold (~$5.52M) over the last 90 days, leaving insiders with about 2.10% ownership.
• Ross beat quarterly expectations (EPS $2.00 vs. $1.90 est.; revenue $6.64B vs. $6.42B, +12.2% YoY) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 (annualized $1.78, ~0.8% yield).

Flossbach Von Storch SE increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 120,637 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,595 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $21,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 7,951 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 35.8% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,581 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,350,000 after buying an additional 2,792 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.0% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 150,491 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $19,200,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.2% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 12,580 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,605,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,147.67. The trade was a 46.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $226.17 on Tuesday. 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 12 month low of $124.49 and a 12 month high of $230.44. The company has a market cap of $72.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm 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%.Ross Stores's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.445 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 26.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ROST. Zacks Research cut shares of Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.06.

Ross Stores Company 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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