Modern Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,021 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,021 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Hahn Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $11,203,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after buying an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $129.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $138.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.03.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.