5,277 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Acquired by LRT Capital Management LLC

LRT Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $804,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 162.6% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 152.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 257 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The sale 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,234,874.95. This trade represents a 2.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 9th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.29.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ ROST opened at $207.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $67.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.97. 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’s 50-day moving average is $196.73 and its 200-day moving average is $174.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $216.80.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.93%.

Ross Stores Company 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.