Wellington Management Group LLP cut its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 77.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 885,250 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 2,977,434 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.27% of Ross Stores worth $133,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $295,857,000 after buying an additional 151,255 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 5,761 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,902 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 91.1% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 3,664 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 46.3% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 11,067 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,666,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.5% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 153,583 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $23,116,000 after acquiring an additional 6,580 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.
Ross Stores Stock Up 2.7 %
Shares of ROST traded up $3.47 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $131.35. The company had a trading volume of 946,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,433. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $135.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.80. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-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.
Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ross Stores Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.67.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on ROST
About Ross Stores
(
Free Report)
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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