Occidental Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 1,537 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,537 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $523,185,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 515.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $243,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,585 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1,437.1% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,026,367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $142,039,000 after acquiring an additional 959,594 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,083,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $465,563,000 after acquiring an additional 673,670 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,634.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.5 %

ROST opened at $145.32 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $107.30 and a twelve month high of $151.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day moving average of $138.68 and a 200-day moving average of $140.42. The stock has a market cap of $48.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.08.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The company had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.