Zacks Investment Management Decreases Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Zacks Investment Management lowered its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 95.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,028 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 60,158 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock opened at $139.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $133.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.84. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased 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 note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.87.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last ninety days. 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.

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