Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,257,086 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 162,587 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.29% of Ross Stores worth $643,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 8.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $295,857,000 after purchasing an additional 151,255 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 32.0% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,904 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 61,535 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $9,262,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 5,761 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,902 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have commented on ROST shares. Citigroup raised Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.00.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on ROST
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.
Ross Stores Price Performance
Shares of Ross Stores stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $130.31. 5,568,712 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,595,166. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.03. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $42.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. Research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.
Ross Stores Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 25.63%.
About Ross Stores
(
Free Report)
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.
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