GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Purchases New Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 6,726 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $931,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $523,185,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Ross Stores by 515.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $243,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,585 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 1,437.1% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,026,367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $142,039,000 after purchasing an additional 959,594 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $102,083,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Ross Stores by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $465,563,000 after purchasing an additional 673,670 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ROST. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,038 shares of company stock valued at $10,526,384 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $145.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.08. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $151.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $136.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The firm had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

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

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.