Resonant Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Resonant Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,649 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 337 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,510,301 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,488,582,000 after buying an additional 137,952 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $779,543,000 after buying an additional 125,519 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,036,224 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $640,624,000 after buying an additional 1,048,817 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,355,761 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,541,000 after buying an additional 662,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 2,173,922 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $133.34 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $151.12. The stock has a market cap of $44.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $143.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.54. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.21.

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.