Perigon Wealth Management LLC Invests $224,000 in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,622 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 458.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,806. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital upped their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $132.79 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.00 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $144.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.04.

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, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.44%.

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.