Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,151,164 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 118,924 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores comprises about 1.8% of Burgundy Asset Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.35% of Ross Stores worth $174,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $238,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 105,325 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $15,933,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 44,822 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $6,780,000 after acquiring an additional 4,334 shares during the period. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,578 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 10,086 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.53.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $152.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The firm's 50-day moving average is $137.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.98. The stock has a market cap of $50.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Company 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.

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