8,560 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Purchased by Financial Planning Hawaii Inc.

Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,560 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,542,000. Ross Stores comprises about 0.9% of Financial Planning Hawaii Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth $7,949,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $1,411,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,790,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Ross Stores by 84.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 227,340 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $34,645,000 after buying an additional 104,270 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 130,610 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $19,904,000 after buying an additional 7,338 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $208.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $67.53 billion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.97. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.07 and a 52-week high of $217.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $200.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.33.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.Ross Stores’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 26.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.29.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.