Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1,437.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,026,367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 959,594 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.30% of Ross Stores worth $142,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Ross Stores by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,133 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 5,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 961 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $128.24. 1,011,500 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,030,757. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.06. 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 one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $151.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.76.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, 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 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.