Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc Has $5.73 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 284 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises approximately 1.5% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Hahn Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $11,203,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,152,690,000 after acquiring an additional 807,850 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.8 %

ROST opened at $142.28 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $134.02 and a 200-day moving average of $142.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROST. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup raised shares of Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.73.

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.