Perigon Wealth Management LLC Invests $224,000 in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,622 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE now owns 32,789 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,538,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $228,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 43,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,978,000 after acquiring an additional 20,248 shares during the last quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 68,657 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $9,501,000 after acquiring an additional 7,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $132.79 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $151.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $144.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.42.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during 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%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.