1,403 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Acquired by Corton Capital Inc.

Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,403 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its position in Ross Stores by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROST. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.73.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $143.03 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $133.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.40. The stock has a market cap of $47.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Ross Stores Company 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.