Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,267 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 31,380 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $21,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hahn Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $11,203,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.53.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $150.66. 2,491,578 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,650,566. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.40. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.