Optimize Financial Inc Takes Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,371 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $510,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $649,318,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 8,209.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $360,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,543 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $230,204,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $173,329,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction 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 approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock traded down $2.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $141.03. 2,569,659 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,656,758. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $133.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $46.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Ross Stores Company Profile

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.