Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,541 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,012,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 458.0% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ ROST traded down $3.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $135.99. 2,290,332 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,929,880. The firm has a market cap of $45.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $145.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.96.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.