Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by NEOS Investment Management LLC

NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 23.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 40,164 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,680 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $129.09 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $138.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.03. The firm has a market cap of $42.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. On average, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Ross Stores

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.