Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,536 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 12,391 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $649,318,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 3,995,760 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 8,209.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $360,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,543 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $230,204,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $504,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,368,571 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Ross Stores Trading Up 0.7%
NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $139.85. 4,225,878 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,714,233. The firm has a market cap of $45.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.88. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.
Ross Stores Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.59%.
Insider Transactions at Ross Stores
In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
ROST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group decreased 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. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.67.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Ross Stores
Ross Stores Profile
(
Free Report)
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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