Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 3,559 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,559 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $139.63. 2,287,417 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,662,945. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The stock's 50 day moving average is $133.48 and its 200 day moving average is $142.84. The company has a market cap of $45.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.