Louisbourg Investments Inc. Sells 2,368 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Louisbourg Investments Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,267 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 2,368 shares during the quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 7,951 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 9,428 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $219.98 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.36 and a 52-week high of $222.03. The company has a market capitalization of $70.91 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $202.62 and a 200-day moving average of $180.37.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 49.91% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.445 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.93%.

Ross Stores Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.