Raiffeisen Bank International AG Invests $541,000 in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 3,570 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $541,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 152.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $152.92 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROST. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.53.

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.