Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Holdings Trimmed by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 525,375 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 55,081 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.16% of Ross Stores worth $79,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,460 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,101 shares of company stock worth $2,300,905. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded up $1.35 on Friday, hitting $132.56. 3,398,111 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,580,161. The company's fifty day moving average is $136.29 and its 200 day moving average is $144.23. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $43.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. 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. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "negative" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.00.

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.