Sarasin & Partners LLP Has $58.92 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Sarasin & Partners LLP trimmed its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 19.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 461,080 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 112,278 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned approximately 0.14% of Ross Stores worth $58,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,995,760 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,250,423,000 after acquiring an additional 135,117 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $575,647,000 after purchasing an additional 154,486 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Down 2.6%

ROST traded down $3.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $136.39. The stock had a trading volume of 4,644,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,713,885. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $141.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.93. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.