Lbp Am Sa Invests $1.13 Million in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

LBP AM SA bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,454 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,128,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,204,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 19,180 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $304,000. Tredje AP fonden boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 180,000 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,229,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 753 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.35 on Thursday, reaching $124.60. 4,366,115 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,849,281. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.01. The firm has a market cap of $41.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.77 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.40.

About Ross Stores

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.