Retirement Systems of Alabama Cuts Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 72.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,900 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 189,108 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $9,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $672,979.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 93,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,892,190.20. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,567 shares of company stock worth $2,812,024 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $159.53.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $1.28 on Friday, reaching $127.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,204,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,794,641. The stock's 50-day moving average is $139.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.91. 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 0.18, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.14.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.59%.

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.