Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA

Key Points

• Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA trimmed its Ross Stores stake by 4.2% in Q4, selling 5,909 shares and leaving 134,883 shares valued at about $25.09 million, while institutional investors hold roughly 86.86% of ROST.
• Ross Stores beat Q4 expectations with $2.00 EPS versus $1.90 and $6.64B in revenue (up 12.2% year‑over‑year), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 (annualized $1.78), and analysts maintain a consensus Moderate Buy with several raised price targets.

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA cut its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 134,883 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 5,909 shares during the quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $25,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in Ross Stores by 162.6% in the 3rd 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 period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.3%

Ross Stores stock opened at $226.34 on Thursday. The firm 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.49 and a 1 year high of $230.44. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $212.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The company 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. On average, research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.445 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 26.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 46.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This trade represents a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,521,004. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen 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 company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.29.

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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