Unique Wealth Strategies LLC Buys Shares of 5,421 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,421 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $750,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,133 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $710,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% in the third quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 5,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.5% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 2,048 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST traded up $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $133.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,958,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,939,351. The company’s fifty day moving average is $142.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.26. 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 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $151.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.04.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.