Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,067 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,062 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ROST. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 14,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,019,000 after buying an additional 7,033 shares in the last quarter. HTLF Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $1,094,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $41,832,000 after purchasing an additional 16,167 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $503,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 160.7% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 164,876 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $22,817,000 after purchasing an additional 101,628 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.7 %

ROST opened at $131.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $140.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.11.

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.