Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 18.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,043 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 18,974 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $18,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,094,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $41,832,000 after acquiring an additional 16,167 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $503,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 160.7% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 164,876 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $22,817,000 after acquiring an additional 101,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 159,116 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $22,020,000 after acquiring an additional 26,868 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report 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 report on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $155.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 19,014 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.39, for a total value of $2,783,459.46. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 119,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,561,237.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded down $0.14 on Thursday, reaching $127.68. 2,597,860 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,050,052. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $141.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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

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