NEOS Investment Management LLC Acquires 7,680 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,164 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,680 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,127,802,000 after acquiring an additional 67,861 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,222,915,000 after purchasing an additional 34,475 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,025,309,000 after purchasing an additional 316,652 shares in the last quarter. Marshfield Associates lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,337,000 after buying an additional 14,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $129.09 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $138.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.03. The company has a market capitalization of $42.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G 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 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

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.