Payden & Rygel Acquires 600 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Payden & Rygel grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,800 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Ross Stores makes up about 1.6% of Payden & Rygel’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $18,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Hahn Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $11,203,000 after acquiring an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Ross Stores by 137.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup raised Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.00.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $130.31 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $42.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.07.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

About Ross Stores

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.