Danske Bank A S Purchases 12,868 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S increased its stake in Ross Stores by 9.3% in Q4, buying 12,868 shares to hold 151,470 shares valued at about $27.29 million, while institutional investors own roughly 86.86% of the stock.
• Insiders sold a total of 25,756 shares (≈$5.52 million) last quarter — including Director Patricia H. Mueller and COO Michael J. Hartshorn — leaving insiders with about 2.10% ownership.
• Ross beat Q1 estimates (EPS $2.00 vs $1.90; revenue $6.64B vs $6.42B), has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $212.06, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 (annual $1.78, yield 0.8%).

Danske Bank A S lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,470 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 12,868 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $27,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Somerset Trust Co boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,788 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co now owns 3,399 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ROST. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research lowered Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $208.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $212.06.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.4%

ROST stock opened at $228.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $73.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.60, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.87. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.49 and a fifty-two week high of $230.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $215.51 and a 200-day moving average of $190.99.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 26.93%.

Ross Stores Profile

Ross Stores, Inc NASDAQ: ROST is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross's business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.

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