Summitry LLC Acquires 6,871 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Summitry LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 352,879 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 6,871 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores makes up 2.6% of Summitry LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Summitry LLC owned about 0.11% of Ross Stores worth $53,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 2.8 %

ROST traded down $3.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $125.42. 2,273,611 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,560,499. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $137.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.81. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60.

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Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ROST. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.