HTLF Bank Acquires Shares of 7,902 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

HTLF Bank bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,902 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,094,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter worth $87,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter worth $200,000. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 20,004 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,810,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 27.4% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 12,174 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 163,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $14,826,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,806. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,806. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $132.05. 563,536 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,937,975. The business’s fifty day moving average is $144.19 and its 200 day moving average is $134.41. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.04. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.