VCI Wealth Management LLC Makes New $943,000 Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

VCI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,813 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $943,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,133 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% in the third quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 5,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.5% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 2,048 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of ROST stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $132.15. 2,364,255 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,993,607. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $151.12. The stock has a market cap of $44.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $143.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.14.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.