Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Acquired by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 389,657 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,951 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned approximately 0.12% of Ross Stores worth $53,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $309,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 961 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 23,229 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 8,404 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after buying an additional 854 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $244,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $3.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $130.84. 3,732,548 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,338,168. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.71. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $151.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $44.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.06.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.