Flossbach Von Storch AG Decreases Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Flossbach Von Storch AG reduced its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,736 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 14,895 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AG’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $14,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 458.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ROST. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.21.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $468,219.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $132.79. The company had a trading volume of 2,046,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,964,218. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.42. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $151.12. The stock has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Ross Stores announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Ross Stores

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.