Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Bought by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 72,482 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,663 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $13,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Somerset Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $224.47 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.49 and a 52 week high of $224.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $72.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $205.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.68.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend 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 is currently 26.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. This represents 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 the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 over the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores 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.