Guggenheim Capital LLC Buys 492 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,938 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $15,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,250,423,000 after purchasing an additional 135,117 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,152,690,000 after buying an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $649,318,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $575,647,000 after acquiring an additional 154,486 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,582,472 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $541,921,000 after acquiring an additional 142,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.8 %

ROST stock opened at $141.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $133.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

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.