Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 955,499 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 41,475 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Ross Stores worth $144,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,127,802,000 after purchasing an additional 67,861 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,222,915,000 after buying an additional 34,475 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,025,309,000 after buying an additional 316,652 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates boosted its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $588,337,000 after acquiring an additional 14,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "negative" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $127.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,901,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,439,952. The stock has a market cap of $42.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $138.68 and a 200 day moving average of $145.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

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

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.