abrdn plc Increases Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

abrdn plc lifted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 65.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 143,970 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,022 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $19,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $1,094,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake 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 worth $41,832,000 after purchasing an additional 16,167 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth $503,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 160.7% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 164,876 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $22,817,000 after acquiring an additional 101,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $2,291,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $133.09 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $143.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.16. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week 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. The company has a market cap of $44.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. 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 1.10%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.44%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

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.