Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Invests $228,000 in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,646 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ROST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,510,301 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,488,582,000 after buying an additional 137,952 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,361,375 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $779,543,000 after acquiring an additional 125,519 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 21.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,036,224 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $640,624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048,817 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 14.1% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,355,761 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,541,000 after purchasing an additional 662,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,742,218 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $550,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,173,922 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.7 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $133.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $144.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.29. The firm has a market cap of $45.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.04.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. 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 to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.