Alteri Wealth LLC Purchases New Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Alteri Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,864 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $433,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 8.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $295,857,000 after purchasing an additional 151,255 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 231.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,161 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after buying an additional 5,696 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Ross Stores by 137.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,774 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ROST. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.87.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $140.49 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $46.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $133.59 and a 200-day moving average of $142.50.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

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.