Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,958,515 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 63,682 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.20% of Ross Stores worth $598,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hahn Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $11,203,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $17,524,000 after buying an additional 11,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $299,583,000 after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Ross Stores Stock Performance
NASDAQ ROST traded down $3.26 during trading on Monday, hitting $127.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,692,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,591,049. The firm has a market cap of $41.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $135.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.
Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Ross Stores Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores
In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company'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 sale, the chairman now 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. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages recently issued reports on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "negative" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Ross Stores
Ross Stores Profile
(
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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