Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lowered its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,525 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 242 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 458.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Rock Creek Group LP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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, Guggenheim raised their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.11.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $132.76 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $140.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.29. The stock has a market cap of $44.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.06. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $151.12. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during 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%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.