Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $2.89 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 73.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,058 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,781 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Somerset Trust Co raised its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 9,832 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,771,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $225.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $72.74 billion, a PE ratio of 34.16, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.87. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.49 and a 12-month high of $231.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.73.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 26.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $212.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Ross Stores

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.