Willis Investment Counsel Raises Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Willis Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 72,482 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,663 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $13,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 7,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 162.6% during the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during 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 $224.47 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $72.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.92. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.49 and a 52 week high of $224.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $205.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.68.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price target on Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 price target on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $208.00 price target on Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.29.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.