Madison Asset Management LLC Has $271.54 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Madison Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,507,387 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 85,634 shares during the period. Ross Stores makes up 3.1% of Madison Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $271,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 7,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. City Holding Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $217.67 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.93, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $217.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.06. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.49 and a 12-month high of $231.16.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 26.93%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, April 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Ross Stores from $240.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.29.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.