Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. cut its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 90.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,353 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 12,712 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Ross Stores by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,127,802,000 after acquiring an additional 67,861 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,222,915,000 after acquiring an additional 34,475 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 4.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,025,309,000 after acquiring an additional 316,652 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates raised its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $588,337,000 after acquiring an additional 14,193 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Ross Stores by 64.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of ROST opened at $135.96 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $145.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROST. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.07.

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.

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