Scotia Capital Inc. Sells 11,345 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Scotia Capital Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 63.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,674 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 11,345 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hahn Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $11,203,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $0.95 on Friday, hitting $139.63. 2,287,417 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,660,164. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.94. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released 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 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

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 that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on ROST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.87.

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.