Simplicity Wealth LLC Purchases Shares of 5,983 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,983 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $878,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,569,718 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,953,763,000 after acquiring an additional 381,790 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,931,795 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $682,511,000 after purchasing an additional 161,202 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $653,600,000 after buying an additional 601,031 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $523,185,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,677,191 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $415,339,000 after buying an additional 68,518 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ROST stock traded down $0.81 on Monday, hitting $131.52. 2,259,784 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,101,885. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.66 and a twelve month high of $151.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $137.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. Ross Stores's revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

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

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 paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.11.

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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