Ardevora Asset Management LLP Sells 51,768 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ardevora Asset Management LLP reduced its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 56.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,389 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 51,768 shares during the quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 919 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,133 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% during the third quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 5,309 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.5% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 2,048 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.43 during trading on Monday, reaching $133.77. 2,187,229 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,976,196. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $143.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.86.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.44%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $155.21.

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.