Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Boosts Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 33,859 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,414 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.1 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $129.09 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $138.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.03. 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 $42.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores 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.