Mission Wealth Management LP Grows Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Mission Wealth Management LP increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,236 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 458.0% in the 3rd 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 acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $127.68 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.71. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $151.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.06. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

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.