Twinbeech Capital LP Buys 187,020 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Twinbeech Capital LP increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 125.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 336,574 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 187,020 shares during the quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP owned 0.10% of Ross Stores worth $50,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in Ross Stores by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, West Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,715 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.53.

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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.65. The company has a market cap of $50.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.