Prudential PLC Sells 1,955 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Prudential PLC trimmed its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,223 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 1,955 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.67.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.9 %

Ross Stores stock traded up $2.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $141.51. The stock had a trading volume of 4,388,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,655,083. The company has a market capitalization of $46.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $133.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm 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%. On average, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. The trade was 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 the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores 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.