J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Purchases Shares of 8,363 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,363 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,265,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 133,541 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $20,201,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 113.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 30,107 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,554,000 after acquiring an additional 16,006 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,892,289 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $286,247,000 after purchasing an additional 17,813 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 29,684 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $4,490,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 91,012 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $13,767,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Five 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $139.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 802,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,660,808. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.68. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.