Clean Yield Group Buys 1,949 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Clean Yield Group boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,446 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises 1.2% of Clean Yield Group's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Clean Yield Group's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $649,318,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8,209.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $360,204,000 after buying an additional 2,352,543 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,204,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $504,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368,571 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded down $3.81 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $136.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,403,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,711,271. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.14. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $141.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.93.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Citigroup raised Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.67.

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.