Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 84.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,460 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 97,013 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock traded down $1.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $131.27. The company had a trading volume of 3,119,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,570,163. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $136.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.32. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60.

Remove Ads

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 presently 25.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "negative" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business'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 owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,101 shares of company stock worth $2,300,905 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.