Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Acquires New Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,034 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,215,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $139.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,033,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,658,943. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $45.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The business's fifty day moving average price is $133.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.61.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.63%.

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.