Fenimore Asset Management Inc. Sells 24,787 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Fenimore Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,646,915 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 24,787 shares during the period. Ross Stores accounts for about 5.3% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Ross Stores worth $227,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $369,081,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 84.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,742,218 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $550,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,173,922 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $204,584,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 21.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,036,224 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $640,624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $465,563,000 after purchasing an additional 673,670 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded down $1.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $143.68. 1,629,923 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,966,125. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $151.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $48.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.04. The business's fifty day moving average price is $145.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.45.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. Ross Stores's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores 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 primarily to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.