denkapparat Operations GmbH Buys Shares of 1,442 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,442 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ROST. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $125.42 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $137.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Ross Stores 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.