Wells Fargo & Company MN Lowers Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Wells Fargo & Company MN cut its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 846,634 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 100,270 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.26% of Ross Stores worth $128,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 13,746 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,079,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $2,120,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Ross Stores by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 13,227 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Private Portfolio Partners LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 77.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,262 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. Loop Capital dropped their price target 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.67.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ROST stock traded up $0.29 on Friday, hitting $139.18. 1,411,222 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,638,519. 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 twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $133.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current 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 issued 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 yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.63%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.