Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Trims Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA trimmed its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,259 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 693 shares during the quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $21,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 458.0% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Steward Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 164.1% during the third quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 338 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of Ross Stores 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 transaction, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’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 $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ROST. Guggenheim raised their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.21.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.3 %

Ross Stores stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $133.77. 2,187,229 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,976,196. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.01. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $151.12. The firm has a market cap of $45.04 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 26.44%.

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.