Tidal Investments LLC Cuts Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Tidal Investments LLC trimmed its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,138 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 1,794 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in Ross Stores by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its stake in Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,715 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, 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 have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 9.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $14.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $137.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,532,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,705,616. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $138.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.13 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

About Ross Stores

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.