Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 551,047 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 20,227 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores comprises 0.7% of Boston Trust Walden Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 0.17% of Ross Stores worth $99,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. City Holding Co. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 target price on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.29.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $225.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $211.41 and a 200-day moving average of $187.56. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.49 and a 52 week high of $230.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 26.93%.

About Ross Stores

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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