Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $25.52 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 827.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 184,395 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 164,504 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Ross Stores worth $25,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $369,081,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,742,218 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $550,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,173,922 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,036,224 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $640,624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048,817 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $465,563,000 after purchasing an additional 673,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 14.1% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,355,761 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,541,000 after buying an additional 662,825 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $135.99 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $145.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.96. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.44%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

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.