Stevens Capital Management LP Makes New $1.44 Million Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 10,389 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,438,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,407 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Ross Stores by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,976 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 51,845 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,175,000 after buying an additional 2,773 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $237,000. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,582 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $772,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.1 %

ROST stock traded up $1.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $133.61. 1,899,858 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,992,449. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.12. 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 quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a market capitalization of $44.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.04.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program 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 programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 26.44%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value 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 have sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

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.