350,877 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Acquired by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 350,877 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $53,077,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.11% of Ross Stores as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after buying an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,250,423,000 after buying an additional 135,117 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after buying an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $575,647,000 after buying an additional 154,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $158.67.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $139.85. 4,225,878 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,710,336. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $139.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.90. The company has a market cap of $45.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.59%.

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.