Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 290,852 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Ross Stores worth $40,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 458.0% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Rock Creek Group LP bought a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of a number of research 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 report on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays lifted 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. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 19,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.39, for a total value of $2,783,459.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 119,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,561,237.18. 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 quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $131.06 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $151.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $142.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.69. 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) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 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 currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.