Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Acquired by Destination Wealth Management

Destination Wealth Management grew its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 118,960 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,658 shares during the quarter. Destination Wealth Management’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $18,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $1,265,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,949,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $1,411,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $4,790,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Ross Stores by 84.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 227,340 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $34,645,000 after purchasing an additional 104,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

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 value of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total value of $546,753.96. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 103,945 shares in the company, valued at $22,234,874.95. This trade represents a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ ROST opened at $206.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $196.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $216.80.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 26.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research cut Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.29.

About Ross Stores

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.