Clearstead Trust LLC Has $585,000 Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1,943.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,229 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,022 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% during the 4th 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 period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% during 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. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% during 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, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 961 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $3.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $130.84. The company had a trading volume of 3,732,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,338,168. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $151.12. The company has a market capitalization of $44.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.81.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value 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 approximately $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital increased their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their target price 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

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.