Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,410,724 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,035 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.43% of Ross Stores worth $213,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its position in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was 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 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROST. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.00.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $130.31 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Ross Stores Company 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.