Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Position Trimmed by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 92,256 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $13,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $144.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $48.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $138.90 and a 200-day moving average of $140.51. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $107.30 and a 12 month high of $151.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores declared that its board 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 buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.06.

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.