Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Stock Holdings Lifted by Cwm LLC

Key Points

• Cwm LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 61.1%, adding 17,090 shares to hold 45,043 shares valued at about $8.11 million.
• Ross beat quarterly expectations with $2.00 EPS vs. $1.90 consensus and $6.64B revenue (up 12.2% YoY), and analysts have raised targets—consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy” with a $208.29 target.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently—Director Patricia Mueller and COO Michael Hartshorn sold shares, with insiders disposing of 25,756 shares (~$5.52 million) over the last three months while insiders own 2.10% of the stock.

Cwm LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 61.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,043 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 17,090 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,411,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,790,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 84.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 227,340 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $34,645,000 after buying an additional 104,270 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 130,610 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $19,904,000 after buying an additional 7,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 22,964 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,499,000 after buying an additional 5,889 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. UBS Group set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.29.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $227.82 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.49 and a fifty-two week high of $228.71. The company has a market cap of $73.39 billion, a PE ratio of 34.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50-day moving average price is $210.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.54. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Ross Stores's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. 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%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 26.93%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.