T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,735,096 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 13,725 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 1.74% of Ross Stores worth $867,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $137.89 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $45.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $133.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.71.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company 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, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.87.

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.

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