Summit Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 372 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 372 shares during the quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $143.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $133.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.87.

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.