ICW Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,391 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Ross Stores accounts for 1.2% of ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ROST. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $123.54 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.59. The stock has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

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.