Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 287,498 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 54.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 242,238 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 287,498 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.07% of Ross Stores worth $36,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alteri Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $433,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $176,973,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. AXA S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 160,750 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $24,317,000 after purchasing an additional 26,817 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 8,502 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective 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. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST traded up $1.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $151.89. 2,369,077 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,652,483. 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 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.45. The company has a market cap of $49.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Ross Stores 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.