Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 22,193 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group sold 22,193 shares in the fourth quarter, trimming its stake by 1.0% to 2,097,959 shares (a 0.65% ownership) worth about $377.9 million.
• Ross beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.00 EPS vs. $1.90 expected and $6.64 billion in revenue (+12.2% YoY); analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $212.06 price target.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently—25,756 shares worth $5.52 million were sold over the past 90 days—while insiders still hold about 2.10% of the stock.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,097,959 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 22,193 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.65% of Ross Stores worth $377,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 7,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. City Holding Co. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 1,080.0% during the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 162.6% during the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $226.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $215.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.24. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.49 and a 1 year high of $230.44. The stock has a market cap of $72.81 billion, a PE ratio of 34.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

Ross Stores Company 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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