Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Sells 175 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,134 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 33.1% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 37,280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,211,000 after purchasing an additional 9,271 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 109,195 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $12,334,000 after buying an additional 1,982 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 0.9% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 107,895 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $12,187,000 after acquiring an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 3.7% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 6,685 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $755,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 68,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,776,000 after acquiring an additional 2,727 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of ROST opened at $130.84 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $151.12. The firm has a market cap of $44.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $141.16 and its 200-day moving average is $135.81.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often 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.