Woodline Partners LP Invests $3.01 Million in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 19,924 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,014,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $139.10. The company had a trading volume of 719,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,700,385. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $139.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.88. The company has a market capitalization of $45.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ROST. Barclays cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.67.

Ross Stores Company Profile

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.