Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,369 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 2,352 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,510,301 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,488,582,000 after purchasing an additional 137,952 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,361,375 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $779,543,000 after acquiring an additional 125,519 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 21.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,036,224 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $640,624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048,817 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 14.1% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,355,761 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,541,000 after acquiring an additional 662,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 84.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,742,218 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $550,429,000 after buying an additional 2,173,922 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ROST. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.21.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $135.99 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $151.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $145.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.44%.

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

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.