NBC Securities Inc. Purchases 4,685 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 93,700.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,690 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,685 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hahn Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $11,203,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 274.3% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,096,000 after acquiring an additional 14,998 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after acquiring an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth $269,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $158.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $1.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $143.80. 1,496,438 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,698,256. The stock has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.14. The business's fifty day moving average is $140.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.92. 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.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

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.