37,330 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Acquired by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 37,330 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,647,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $125.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $41.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.85.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

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.