Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 88.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,248 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $369,081,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 84.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,742,218 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $550,429,000 after buying an additional 2,173,922 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,036,224 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $640,624,000 after buying an additional 1,048,817 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $465,563,000 after buying an additional 673,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,355,761 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,541,000 after buying an additional 662,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Loop Capital increased their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at $468,219.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $133.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization 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. 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 $144.69 and its 200-day moving average is $134.44.

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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.