Heartland Bank & Trust Co Raises Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 19.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,375 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,589 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 52,209 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,898,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. C WorldWide Group Holding A S purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,023,000. Black Diamond Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 1,813 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Finally, J. W. Coons Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $672,979.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 93,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,892,190.20. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,567 shares of company stock valued at $2,812,024 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of ROST opened at $127.67 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $140.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.59%.

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.