State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Decreases Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury decreased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 128,842 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 5,564 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $19,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $649,318,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 8,209.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $360,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,543 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $230,204,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 411.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,458,963 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $220,697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $173,329,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 price target on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.87.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $137.89 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $133.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $45.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. 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 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36 % 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ROST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.