Compass Ion Advisors LLC Sells 6,838 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Compass Ion Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 49.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,113 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 6,838 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,825 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,029,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter worth $226,000. Lincoln Capital LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at $201,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 61,269 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after buying an additional 3,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 27,052 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,970,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.5 %

ROST stock opened at $145.32 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.30 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $138.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.43.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ROST. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.