Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC lessened its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,713 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 324 shares during the quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $41,832,000 after buying an additional 16,167 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth $503,000. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $205,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Ross Stores by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 673,713 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $76,096,000 after purchasing an additional 30,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $145.09 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $145.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.26. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $151.12. The company has a market cap of $48.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.04.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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 primarily to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.