Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 1,149 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,928 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,149 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position 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 worth $465,563,000 after acquiring an additional 673,670 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11,176.2% during 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. raised its position in Ross Stores by 74.7% in 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. LGT Capital Partners LTD. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 95.3% in the fourth 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. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Ross Stores by 151.3% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 730,754 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $82,539,000 after buying an additional 439,950 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the 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 sale, 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 is available at this link. In other news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the business’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 transaction of $616,405.52. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $130.84 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $44.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $141.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.06. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $151.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. This is an increase 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 currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management 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 to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.