Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 93.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,033 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 1,437.1% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,026,367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $142,039,000 after buying an additional 959,594 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $465,563,000 after acquiring an additional 673,670 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 11,176.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 557,158 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $77,105,000 after purchasing an additional 552,217 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,280,052 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $144,582,000 after purchasing an additional 547,416 shares during the period. Finally, LGT Capital Partners LTD. grew its position in Ross Stores by 95.3% during the 4th quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 909,527 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $125,869,000 after purchasing an additional 443,932 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $130.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $44.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $141.16 and a 200-day moving average of $136.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $151.12.

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

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. 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 is 26.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

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.