Foster & Motley Inc. Makes New $229,000 Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,658 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in Ross Stores by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in Ross Stores by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,133 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 5,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its position in Ross Stores by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 2,048 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.3 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $132.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $142.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.12.

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 firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding 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 stock is undervalued.

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.