Vinva Investment Management Ltd Sells 25,922 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 28.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 65,129 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 25,922 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $9,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST traded down $0.71 on Friday, reaching $123.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,647,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,404,675. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.86. The company has a market cap of $40.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.65 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The business 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.40.

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.