Sowell Financial Services LLC Makes New $328,000 Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,566 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.6% during the first quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,598 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 29,684 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,490,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $127.67. 7,112,833 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,758,322. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50-day moving average price is $140.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.50.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,059 shares of company stock valued at $3,768,677 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.53.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company's Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.