Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,175,605 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 225,248 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.84% of Ross Stores worth $4,413,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $230,204,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $173,329,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $299,583,000 after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $127.29. 905,146 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,434,180. The company's 50 day moving average is $139.10 and its 200 day moving average is $145.26. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.40.

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.