Everence Capital Management Inc. Raises Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,900 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,830 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 1.6% during the third quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 5,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 4.5% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 2,048 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 14.1% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 783 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $133.83 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.44. The firm has a market cap of $45.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ROST. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

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.