Spinnaker Trust Sells 300 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Spinnaker Trust reduced its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,400 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Spinnaker Trust’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $465,563,000 after purchasing an additional 673,670 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,677,191 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $415,339,000 after purchasing an additional 68,518 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,077,953 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,655,000 after purchasing an additional 44,722 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,229,488 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $251,821,000 after purchasing an additional 95,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 12.6% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,215,353 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $250,224,000 after acquiring an additional 247,513 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $133.61. 1,958,373 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,939,351. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.04. 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. The company’s 50-day moving average is $142.78 and its 200-day moving average is $135.26.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.