Greenleaf Trust Boosts Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,133 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 80 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Ross Stores by 19.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $465,563,000 after purchasing an additional 673,670 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,677,191 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $415,339,000 after buying an additional 68,518 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Ross Stores by 1.5% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,077,953 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,655,000 after buying an additional 44,722 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,229,488 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $251,821,000 after purchasing an additional 95,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 12.6% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,215,353 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $250,224,000 after purchasing an additional 247,513 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ROST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $133.77 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $151.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $143.71 and its 200-day moving average is $135.01. The firm has a market cap of $45.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 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.

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 net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,567,164.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,567,164.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 in the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores 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.