AXS Investments LLC Increases Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

AXS Investments LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,582 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. AXS Investments LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,931,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $682,511,000 after purchasing an additional 161,202 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $465,563,000 after purchasing an additional 673,670 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $523,185,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,677,191 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $415,339,000 after purchasing an additional 68,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,229,488 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $251,821,000 after purchasing an additional 95,386 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.11.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded up $0.35 on Thursday, hitting $131.86. 3,542,343 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,129,467. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.66 and a 1-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 company’s fifty day moving average is $137.19 and its 200 day moving average is $137.46. The company has a market capitalization of $44.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.06.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

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

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.