Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC Sells 325 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,500 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 325 shares during the quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ROST. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Ross Stores by 19.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $465,563,000 after acquiring an additional 673,670 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 11,176.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 557,158 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $77,105,000 after acquiring an additional 552,217 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,280,052 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $144,582,000 after acquiring an additional 547,416 shares in the last quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 95.3% in the 4th quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 909,527 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $125,869,000 after acquiring an additional 443,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Ross Stores by 151.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 730,754 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $82,539,000 after buying an additional 439,950 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ROST. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ ROST traded up $1.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $133.61. 1,958,373 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,939,351. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $142.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.42. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $151.12. The firm has a market cap of $44.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the 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 directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.