E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,394 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 355 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 109,195 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $12,334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Ross Stores by 4.1% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 68,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,776,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 19.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 353,472 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $39,925,000 after buying an additional 57,758 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 14,861 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,679,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 14,693 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.11.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Ross Stores news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $1.18 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $132.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,598,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,070,758. The company has a market capitalization of $44.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.06. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $140.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.