Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Reduces Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 59.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,676 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 74,139 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,250,423,000 after buying an additional 135,117 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after buying an additional 807,850 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $575,647,000 after buying an additional 154,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $2.87 on Tuesday, reaching $130.45. The company had a trading volume of 395,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,766,610. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $139.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.35.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group reduced 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $159.53.

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 on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 110,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.