Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $3.16 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,824 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 734 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 458.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $139.71 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $151.12. The stock has a market cap of $47.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $145.47 and its 200-day moving average is $132.70.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 primarily to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.