State of Wyoming Increases Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

State of Wyoming raised its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 306.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,208 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,926 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $152.92 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $135.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.65.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several research reports. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.53.

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.