HB Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,699 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $285,000. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,621 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $454,000. Falcon Wealth Planning purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $147.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.04. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $151.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $144.58 and its 200-day moving average is $131.65.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.44%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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 primarily to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.