NewEdge Wealth LLC Boosts Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 99.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,745 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,353 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $1,040,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 13,214 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,380,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 23,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,847 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,739 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $273,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $240.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.29.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $217.67 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $217.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.12 billion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.87. 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.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Company 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.