S.A. Mason LLC Sells 100 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

S.A. Mason LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,000 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter worth $29,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 458.0% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rock Creek Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the company’s 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 owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other 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 value of $329,285.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $147.19 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $151.12. The stock has a market cap of $49.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $144.58 and a 200 day moving average of $131.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.44%.

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 primarily to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.