Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY Trims Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 603,592 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 14,012 shares during the quarter. Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY owned 0.18% of Ross Stores worth $91,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,715 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.92 on Friday, reaching $139.85. 4,225,878 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,712,215. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company's 50 day moving average is $139.50 and its 200-day moving average is $142.88. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.67.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.