Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Has $452,000 Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 17.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,266 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,510,301 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,488,582,000 after buying an additional 137,952 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,361,375 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $779,543,000 after buying an additional 125,519 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 21.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,036,224 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $640,624,000 after buying an additional 1,048,817 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 14.1% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,355,761 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,541,000 after buying an additional 662,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Ross Stores by 84.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,742,218 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $550,429,000 after buying an additional 2,173,922 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.2 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $133.34 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The stock has a market cap of $44.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Ross Stores announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,567,164.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.