Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Raises Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 41.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 677 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $94,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $369,081,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Ross Stores by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,742,218 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $550,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,173,922 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,036,224 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $640,624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048,817 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Ross Stores by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $465,563,000 after acquiring an additional 673,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,355,761 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,541,000 after acquiring an additional 662,825 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROST. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $131.80 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $144.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $151.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Ross Stores Profile

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.