Swiss National Bank Trims Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,058,900 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 37,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.31% of Ross Stores worth $146,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 5.7% during 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. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 11.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 854 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $244,000. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 113.5% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $869,000 after acquiring an additional 3,338 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of ROST opened at $130.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $151.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.71. The firm has a market cap of $44.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.06.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors 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 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 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.