Ethic Inc. Grows Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,847 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Somerset Trust Co lifted its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 9,832 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $225.81 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $124.49 and a one year high of $231.16. The firm has a market cap of $72.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.16, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. UBS Group set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price 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 cut Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $212.06.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the 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 directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of Ross Stores 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 owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.