Versor Investments LP Purchases New Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,580 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $465,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 23,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,847 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth $1,411,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth $4,790,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 84.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 227,340 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $34,645,000 after acquiring an additional 104,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $1,542,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. 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. Zacks Research downgraded Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 price target on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $213.29.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of ROST stock opened at $213.27 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.49 and a 12-month high of $231.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $218.50 and its 200 day moving average is $194.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 currently 26.93%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. 2.10% of the stock is 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.