Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Stake Boosted by Marshfield Associates

Marshfield Associates boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,020,413 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 157,385 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores makes up approximately 10.6% of Marshfield Associates’ portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Marshfield Associates owned about 1.24% of Ross Stores worth $612,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 162.6% during the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 152.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 257 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total transaction of $546,753.96. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 103,945 shares in the company, valued at $22,234,874.95. The trade was a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $208.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.29.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of ROST stock opened at $207.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.26 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.97. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $216.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $196.73 and its 200 day moving average is $174.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.93%.

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.