Kwmg LLC Sells 386 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Kwmg LLC decreased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,575 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 386 shares during the period. Kwmg LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $7,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. American International Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 124,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,219,000 after buying an additional 2,969 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 14,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 7,033 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $1,094,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $41,832,000 after buying an additional 16,167 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 232.6% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 32,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,454,000 after buying an additional 22,506 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were 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 owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,969 shares of company stock worth $2,790,407. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ROST. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.58.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ ROST traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $148.10. 789,019 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,262,541. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.21. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $107.30 and a 1 year high of $151.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $49.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.08.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 EPS 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 business had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.79%.

Ross Stores Company 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.