Fenimore Asset Management Inc Cuts Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Fenimore Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,531,966 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 73,307 shares during the period. Ross Stores makes up approximately 5.7% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $275,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 7,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. City Holding Co. grew its position in Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $228.71 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.49 and a 12-month high of $230.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.99. The company has a market capitalization of $73.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.60, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.87.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The business had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ROST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group set a $208.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research downgraded Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores 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.