SVB Wealth LLC Acquires 1,172 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

SVB Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 51.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,469 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,172 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $2,012,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $6,560,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 5,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $761,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,704 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 4,660 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 1,536 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $133.34 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $151.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $143.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.70. The company has a market capitalization of $44.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. 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 26.44%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related 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 sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. 2.00% of the stock is owned by 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.