EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $819,000 Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 116 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ross Stores from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.73.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.8 %

ROST stock opened at $142.28 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $134.02 and its 200-day moving average is $142.33. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. 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.