NewEdge Wealth LLC Acquires 1,536 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 49.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,660 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,536 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 458.0% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 52.9% during 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.1 %

ROST opened at $133.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $45.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $144.69 and its 200 day moving average is $134.44. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted 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 business 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 quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a 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 target price of $155.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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 to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.