National Bank of Canada FI Sells 11,347 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 238,964 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 11,347 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.07% of Ross Stores worth $36,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST traded down $3.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $127.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,692,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,590,961. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $135.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "negative" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.00.

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.