Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Boosts Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 93.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,033 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. HTLF Bank bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,094,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.7% during 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 in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth approximately $503,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 160.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 159,116 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $22,020,000 after purchasing an additional 26,868 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $130.84 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $141.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.06. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.