Portside Wealth Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,828 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,952,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,250,423,000 after purchasing an additional 135,117 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $575,647,000 after acquiring an additional 154,486 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $140.08 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $141.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.93. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.67.

Ross Stores Company 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.