Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Boosts Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 284,605 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,172 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $51,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,762,583 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,487,720,000 after buying an additional 180,182 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in Ross Stores by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 4,747,639 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $605,704,000 after buying an additional 426,370 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,655,932 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $709,518,000 after buying an additional 252,284 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Ross Stores by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,045,346 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $616,470,000 after buying an additional 375,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshfield Associates grew its stake in Ross Stores by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 4,020,413 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $612,671,000 after buying an additional 157,385 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of ROST stock opened at $226.34 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $212.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.84. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.49 and a twelve month high of $230.44. The company has a market capitalization of $72.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.29.

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.