Cwm LLC Buys 968 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Cwm LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,690 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,677,191 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $415,339,000 after purchasing an additional 68,518 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,077,953 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $347,655,000 after purchasing an additional 44,722 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,229,488 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $251,821,000 after purchasing an additional 95,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,215,353 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $250,224,000 after purchasing an additional 247,513 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on ROST shares. Barclays increased their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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 dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 the SEC website. In other news, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $133.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.42. The stock has a market cap of $44.99 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. 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. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.44%.

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

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.