Carroll Investors Inc Takes $360,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Carroll Investors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,379 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $360,000. Ross Stores makes up 0.2% of Carroll Investors Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $295,857,000 after purchasing an additional 151,255 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 3.8% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,675,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 24.6% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,307 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,967,000 after purchasing an additional 4,008 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $244,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Ross Stores by 231.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,161 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 5,696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.87.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $143.66 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $133.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $47.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $672,979.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 93,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,892,190.20. This represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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.