Ampfield Management L.P. Takes $231,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ampfield Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,669 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000. Ross Stores makes up 0.2% of Ampfield Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $41,832,000 after purchasing an additional 16,167 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $503,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,291,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.7% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 673,713 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $76,096,000 after purchasing an additional 30,056 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at $8,322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $134.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,027,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,950,509. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.29. The firm has a market cap of $45.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12.

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

Ross Stores announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was 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 approximately $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at $468,219.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ROST. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.21.

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.