Bessemer Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 97.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,676 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 348,607 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,815 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted 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 valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $18,930,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $495,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,617 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,968,000 after buying an additional 777 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $159.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 110,365 shares in the company, valued at $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $127.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,547,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,775,385. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $139.69 and a 200-day moving average of $140.53.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 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.