Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC Boosts Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Ross Stores accounts for about 1.4% of Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its stake in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,460 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $125.42 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $41.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

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.