Headlands Technologies LLC Acquires Shares of 9,615 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,615 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,331,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,094,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $41,832,000 after purchasing an additional 16,167 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at about $503,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 160.7% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 164,876 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $22,817,000 after purchasing an additional 101,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 159,116 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $22,020,000 after purchasing an additional 26,868 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,806. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,806. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim upped their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $133.61 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $151.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Ross Stores announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.44%.

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.