Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by QV Investors Inc.

QV Investors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 38.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 11,870 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Somerset Trust Co increased its stake in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 20,114 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,065,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Finivi Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Finivi Inc. now owns 1,646 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $219.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $70.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $203.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.36 and a 1-year high of $222.03.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.445 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 26.93%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the business’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 value of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 9th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 target price on Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.