CoreFirst Bank & Trust Takes $61,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 402 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $61,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,391 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $1,013,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $17,221,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 31,444 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,757,000 after acquiring an additional 9,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $1,893,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $128.13 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $42.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $139.10 and a 200-day moving average of $145.26. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

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.