Westpac Banking Corp cut its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 62.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,256 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 2,122 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Hahn Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $11,203,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $17,524,000 after buying an additional 11,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 137.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Ross Stores Trading Down 0.5 %
Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $136.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,554,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,628,134. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month 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 company has a market cap of $44.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company's 50 day moving average is $134.07 and its 200-day moving average is $143.35.
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. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.
Ross Stores Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 25.63%.
Insider Transactions at Ross Stores
In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total value of $672,979.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 93,126 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,892,190.20. This trade represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms have recently commented on ROST. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.67.
View Our Latest Analysis on ROST
Ross Stores Company Profile
(
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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