Everpar Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 3,399 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $470,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,299 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $254,402,000 after purchasing an additional 28,748 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,434 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after buying an additional 2,760 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 26,133 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,617,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,464 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the firm’s 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $1.18 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $132.76. 1,598,530 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,070,758. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $151.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

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

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.