Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Acquired by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 284,605 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 13,172 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.09% of Ross Stores worth $51,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 7,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. City Holding Co. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1,080.0% during the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 162.6% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ROST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,147.67. The trade was a 46.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $226.34 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $212.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.49 and a 1-year high of $230.44. The company has a market cap of $72.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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