Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Trims Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,334 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 450 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in Ross Stores by 15.1% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 10,522 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Hendershot Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 60,898 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,878,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 37,280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,211,000 after purchasing an additional 9,271 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 78,129 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $8,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares during the period. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at $469,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, 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 value of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.21.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.9 %

ROST traded down $1.12 on Tuesday, hitting $129.94. The company had a trading volume of 486,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,992,914. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $151.12. The company has a market cap of $43.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.57, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid 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 dividend yield of 1.13%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

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.