Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Has $478,000 Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,742 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 5.6% during the first quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,598 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Ross Stores by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,895 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $672,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 93,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,892,190.20. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,059 shares of company stock valued at $3,768,677. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.53.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $128.05 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.14. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $141.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.07.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.59%.

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.