Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Makes New $255,000 Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,843 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 19.5% in the 3rd 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 during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11,176.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 557,158 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $77,105,000 after purchasing an additional 552,217 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,280,052 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $144,582,000 after purchasing an additional 547,416 shares during the period. LGT Capital Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 95.3% in the 4th quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 909,527 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $125,869,000 after purchasing an additional 443,932 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 151.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 730,754 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $82,539,000 after purchasing an additional 439,950 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on 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 target price on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $133.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $142.78 and a 200-day moving average of $135.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

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.