Vest Financial LLC Invests $25.09 Million in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 196,315 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $25,087,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Adero Partners LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 1,459 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,471,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 792,637 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $119,902,000 after buying an additional 14,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 37,348 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,650,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $143.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.14. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. 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 50 day moving average of $141.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.95.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

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.